Darken My Door
by DarkHououmon
Summary: "So you are this Great Creator I've heard so much about? What a pity... Tell me, just how much do you know about this world? Have you ever really thought about what goes on between the chalkboards? Here, allow me to...show you."
1. Prologue

There were a lot of museums located in ChalkZone. Most of them had been built by zoners; the ones that were erased by human artists was not very common. It would seem that most humans didn't really enjoy drawing museums all that much. At least, not on a chalkboard.

This particular place was a bit different than others. On the outside, it looked like your typical museum. It had its artifacts. It had its skeletons and art pieces that were up for display. Anyone who came into this place deciding to have a look around wouldn't really notice anything off about it. In fact, it almost seemed a bit... _dull._

But that was because they often didn't look deeper. For this place had another thing going on about it. It was not simply a place for museum items. It was not a place just for the common folk to come in and take a look around at historical stuff.

It was also a hiding spot.

Not many would even understand, or hope to understand, why this was the case. The item in question didn't look really all that significant. There was nothing about it that made it stand out above the rest. There was nothing about it that made it look any more special than anything else. At least, not in particular appearance or anything. After all, it did look ike a piece of ordinary chalk.

But those who were wide enough might realize quickly this wasn't the case. After all, why would an ordinary piece of chalk be surrounded by the lasers? Only humans could use this sort of thing. Any zoner who tried to take it would be pretty stupid. The chalk would be utterly useless to them.

But sometimes in ChalkZone, it was just best to stay on the side of caution. There was little reason to let their guard down here. There was little reason to set things aside and act like nothing could happen. Zoners can often have really bizarre motivations. Even if they couldn't use the chalk, they could still take it and use it as a weapon. A zoner would still die if the chalk were chucked into their throat, would they not?

These were the thoughts that raced through their head as they made their way over slowly. The figure, covered in a cloak to conceal their appearance to anyone who might be watching, kept their eyes glued on their target. It wouldn't really take much to grab this and go...or rather, this would be the case if it not for the lasers and the glass all around. That was definitely going to be quite a hamper in this situation.

Not that it was going to stop them. They had come all this way and they were not about to give up now. They worked too hard for this. The chalk was right within their sights. They needed to take this chance. It was the only way that they would ever...

They lifted their head up when they heard the sound of footsteps. Then some mumbling through the walls. They looked around left and right as they tried to make sense of what was being said. However, the voices were just too muddled and blurred together. No coherent word could be heard. This frustrated them, causing them to grit their teeth.

Well it didn't seem to be too much to worry about. They couldn't hear the footsteps getting closer. Not to mention there was no urgency in their voices. They probably didn't even know they were in here. Well that was good. The last thing they needed was more complications about this. Wiping their brow, they turned their attention back to the item before them.

 _Now how were they going to get it...?_

They paced a little, going around in a wide circle. There was not a lot of room and doing this was quite risky. But they couldn't help it. They needed to do something in order to keep their mind's gears going. They thought better when they were on the move like this.

The security system in place was not too badly done. The glass would make it impossible to grab without breaking it. And the lasers would ensure that something got noticed, setting off the alarm. This meant that they would not be able to grab it as quickly as he would have liked. If they wanted this thing, they would need to find another way to pull it off.

Hmm what if they were to go from the bottom down? That shouldn't be too hard. They would need to figure out where this thing was in correlation with the levels, and then... Oh wait, they would need the right kind of tools and there was no telling what was between the floors. So there went that idea.

But there was no way they were going to leave this quickly. They were going to stay and look at this thing and figure out what they were going to do. This chalk... They needed this chalk. They would not be able to leave until they were able to grab it and take it with them. This piece of chalk was highly important. Crucial to the plan.

As they took a few steps closer, they could feel every core of their body starting to tremble. Excitement rushed through and they were not able to relax. Energy quaked through and they breathed in and out heavily, sucking in sharp breath after sharp breath. Their eyes widened bigger as thoughts raced through their mind.

Perhaps this was not the way to do things. Perhaps there was a better way. Perhaps they should just accept that...

 _No_ , there was no way that they were going to accept this. Time has come to change things, starting now. With their eyes narrowed, they approached a little closer to the device that would be a game changer. They licked their lips in determination as they reached out and...

They flinched when they could feel a slight coolness around their wrist. It crossed along the skin and their heart skipped a beat. It did not take a genius to know exactly what had happened.

Their hand had went through one of the lasers. And the effect was instant.

They nearly jumped into the air when the loud, blaring siren filled everything around them. Their ears nearly popped out of their head and they were shocked as to why they could still hear at all. They thought for sure they could feel some blood starting to seep down towards the ground, staining the surface there. They remained frozen for several moments before they managed to get themself to move.

But they had moved a litte too slowly. They could hear the sound of footsteps coming this way. The shouts increased in volume. They could sene the urgency on their voices now. No longer were they relaxed and doing typical patrol. They were fully alert and ready to deal with intruders like themself. They had to get out of here.

 _But..ugh_... Did they _really_ want to leave _now?_ They had tried so hard to get in here. They had taken a long time to figure out where this secret entrance was, how to get in without the guards noticing... If they left now, then that was it. There was no way that they would have another chance like this again. They would seal up the entrance. They would assign more guards. They would ensure that no one would come in.

There was really no choice in the matter, though. It was either flee...or risk getting captured. And they were not about to let themself get captured. Not by something as filthy as... They shuddered for a moment and shook their head. They could not even finish their sentence.

As much as they hated having to run off with their tail between their legs as it were, they really didn't have very many options. They would fail no matter what they did. They could feel their blood burning up inside and they grounded their teeth together. They should have plotted this out better. They should have been smart enough not to get closer. But they just had to push their own luck, didn't they?

Oh well, there was still another time. Even if it would be difficult, there was still another time.

They took a moment to look around the room. They could see lights coming down through the door with the window not fear. The security guards were coming down here. They would be here relatively shortly. They would need to get out now if they wanted to have a chance at making a getaway.

The figure didn't waste time. They turned their attention towards the section they had snuck in at. An area where the bricks had been opened up, creating a tunnel that snaked along the ground, reaching out into the distance. The figure rushed over here as soon as they could and they immediately went to work sealing it right back up. Not an easy thing to do when there was so little time. But they still managed, and in a matter of moments, though a little sloppy, a barrier had been created.

With just a tiny hole for them to watch and see out into the room still, the figure waited quietly and listened intently to what was being said.

"Do you see anyone, Frank?"

"No, not really, Joe."

"It's Moe."

"Whatever. Anyway, I don't see anything missing. Maybe it was just a false alarm."

"There are no false alarms here. You know how the system is."

"It could still have some bugs in it."

"Well whoever was here, they are gone now."

"Or there never was anyone here."

"Shut it."

The figure listened carefully to the conversation. As it went on, it became increasingly clear that the security guards had no idea that they were in there. So all they needed to do was just wait until they left.

And as they waited, they tried to think of just how they could pull off this heist. There had to be some way that they could succeed in getting that chalk out. But how were they going to do that if... _wait_ , wasn't there someone in ChalkZone who had stolen magic chalk before? Wasn't there someone who might have the cunningness required to pull something like this off?

 _Oh yes_ , his name was _Skrawl..._


	2. Just Another Failure

Rudy growled as he clenched his teeth tightly. He narrowed his eyes as he glared at the jellybean zoner before him. He kept his body henched, a piece of magic chalk clutched tightly in his hand. He struggled to prepare himself for what he had to do next. But he could not move. Not yet. Skrawl still had something that prevented him from moving too quickly.

And that was Snap himself.

" _Rudy! Draw something!_ " Snap shouted as loudly as he could.

Skrawl glared down at him and gave him a hard shake. "Be quiet, you worthless piece of scrap!"

Snap turned his head and glared directly at Skrawl. The two became interlocked with their glaring at one another and Rudy thought he could hear them both growling. Snap's glare was soon replaced with one that was more sneering, and he could just hear the taunt already before it ever left Snap's mouth. "At least I'm more well put together, you lumpy potato."

Skrawl growled at this, his antenna looking as though they were folding back a little from the raw emotion that raced through him. His grip on Snap tightened, his claws going around his neck and squeezing it. Snap widened his eyes and he struggled in the larger zoner's grasp.

" _How dare you! Do you have any idea who I am?!_ " Skrawl shook Snap roughly a few times. " _I am your future ruler! You shall treat me with respect!_ "

Snap's head and eyes seemed to roll around a little from the shere force of the shaking. It was a miracle that he managed to stay awake at all. The zoner had to shake his head a few times in order to reorient himself. Yet he was still dangling by his throat, in this jellybean's grasp. And yet despite his situation, the small superhero zoner still managed to give a grin to Skrawl. One that was filled with a sarcastic smirk.

"I already treat you with as much respect as you deserve, Skrawly."

"Arrgh! Don't call me 'Skrawly'!" The jellybean zoner lifted Snap up into the air as he said this. He become focused on Snap, and Snap alone, shaking him almost violently. It was to the point where he did not really notice anyone behind him.

He did not notice Rudy coming towards him.

The ten year old boy wanted to rush in quickly and save his friend. But he knew that doing so would not end well. He would need to figure out a plan of atack. He didn't really know what Skrawl was up to this time. He had just appeared out of nowhere. But that was something that he could focus on later. Right now, it was more important to stop him before he... did whatever it is he had planned on doing in the first place.

Rudy began to walk around in a broad circle around Skrawl. He kept his eyes staring up at him warily, his teeth gritting against his lip. He could feel his heart racing inside of his chest and he struggled to calm himself down. This became a difficult task to pull off, especially with how fast his heart was racing. Regardless, he managed to keep this up, keeping his distance while still ensuring that he could see everything that Skrawl was doing.

He lifted up his head and he could see that Penny was not too far away. She had a similiar thought it would seem, and she had taken position on the other side. She also clutched a piece of magic chalk in her hands.

The sight of this made Rudy freeze for a moment. He briefly had a flashback of when Penny had 'worked' for Skrawl. He quickly reminded himself of reality before it became too overwhelming for him. But still, it was quite something to see Penny with magic chalk. She rarely ever used it in the first place. But regardless, Skrawl would still have a heck of a time dealing with two creators.

Skrawl's attention was still on Snap. It would seem that Snap had crossed a bit of a line before. Skrawl was still shaking him, and it seemed to get harder and harder, more pronounced. Rudy felt a small sting in his chest, especially with the way that Snap's facial expression was looking at the moment. He realized that he needed to get Skrawl to stop this before he ended up causing any permanent damage.

And that meant that he couldn't wait to plan and act. He needed to act right now. Gritting his teeth tightly, the young boy rushed over towards Skrawl, his arms pumping at his sides.

"Hey Skrawl!" Rudy shouted. This was enough to make Skrawl turn his massive head over and stare at him, his mismatched eyes caught between a middle of glaring and being shocked. "You want to have some real fun? Well try this on for size!"

Rudy flinched when he said that. _Oh gawd_ , did he really say something _so corny...?_ He snorted at the thought of that. He had to shrug off the uncomfortableness and try to ignore just how embarrassing that had been. He refocused his attention on getting his magic chalk ready. But without a plan, he merely acted on instinct and the first thing he thought to draw was...

"Water balloons..." Snap's voice was rather dull at this, as though he was not at all surprised. "You're going to fight Skrawl... _with water balloons_..."

Skrawl just stared blankly as Rudy held a few water balloons in his hands. Despite what Snap said, Rudy just glared at Skrawl, raising up the balloons as though they were something to be feared. This only made Skrawl lean his head back and release a loud laugh, his hands pressing up against his chest. " _Th-That's your plan?! You going to make me wet?!_ Is that your punishment for me, boy?" Skrawl took a step forward, leaning in towards Rudy while his hand still choked and strangled Snap. "You're going to run up my dry cleaning bill?"

Rudy didn't answer. What was the point in answering? It wasn't like Skrawl was in any mood to listen to him. It wasn't like Skrawl could understand just what was going on here. He might be intelligent, but there were still some things that went right over his head. And this was one of them. If he couldn't bring himself to notice something like...

His thoughts were interrupted when Skrawl released a loud shout and then, with as much strength mustered in his arm as he could, he thrusted Snap over in his direction. Rudy's eyes widened and he let out a scream as Snap collided with him. The force of the impact was enough to knock him into the ground. He crashed into the floor, letting out a groan of pain.

Skrawl stood over them, a sneer spread a long his face. "Did you really think that I was going to give you a chance to get me, _little chalk boy?!_ " He tilted his head to one side. "Do you think I was _that stupid?_ "

Rudy glared up at him. He then turned his head over to one side, trying to find the water balloons that he was still using. He was glad to see that they hadn't yet been tripped open. But most were out of the way. He still had one gripped in his hand, but he would have to be extremely lucky in order to land this one on Skrawl. He would have to take careful aim.

Rudy continued to keep his eyes narrowed as he watched Skrawl. The jellybean zoner looked all proud, with his back straightened and a hand wrapped behind his back. His attention was so fully on Rudy that he didn't seem to be noticing Penny. Or did he notice and he was just pretending that he didn't know? It was so hard to tell with him nowadays. He had become a little unpredictable to some degree.

Nonetheless, Rudy still kept his body hunched, having climbed up to his feet. Snap had gotten up as well and he backed up. Rudy was not surprised to see his friend backing a little behind him, giving him and Penny the room that they needed to pull this off.

But he couldn't really tell if Penny had something planned as well. He could barely see her behind Skrawl and he couldn't tell what she was doing. Had she come up with a plan as well? Was she going to execute it? He would love to find out, but he couldn't wait for that. Not while he had this massive jellybean leering over him like this. As soon as Skrawl raised up his hand, Rudy reacted on instinct.

It took only seconds for the water balloon to make impact. Skrawl let out a grunt and he staggered back a little from the force of the blow. He hissed and seethed as he struggled to wipe his face, his fingers dripping with the clear liquid.

"Is this what Master Tabootie's plans have been reduced to?" Skrawl asked as he wiped his brow. His lip curled up into a mocking snarl. "Covering me in water?"

Rudy didn't say anything. He just chose to wait in silence, smirking back at Skrawl. He could feel Snap tugging at him and asking him what he was waiting for. And as even more seconds ticked by, Snap's tugs became more desperate, almost to the point of wailing, and Rudy thought he could hear his heart pounding inside of his chest.

But still he kept quiet. This confused even Skrawl, judging from the zoner's reaction. Rudy just stared at him and waited for him to figure out things. It shouldn't take that long, honestly. All Skrawl would need to do is put to and two together and he would eventually figure out just why he was looking at him in this manner.

And it took a few seconds shorter than he would have thought.

" _What the_..." Skrawl looked down at his arm as he saw some kind of wafering... something coming up from it. Then it hit him like a sack of bricks and he released a loud, pain-filled scream. "Aaaagh! What have you done?!"

" _Oy caloy!_ " Snap jumped back at this, his white eyes unable to look away. "Bucko, what did you do?" He said as he echoed the jellybean's pained confusion.

"Don't worry. It won't do anything permanent." Rudy said as he watched Skrawl being covered in the burning liquid. "It will just buy us a little bit of time."

Snap still couldn't tear his eyes away. For a fleeitng moment, Rudy thought he could see a look of sympathy in those eyes. This did admittingly confuse Rudy, considering the fact that Skrawl was an enemy. But perhaps it was still uncomfortable for him to see another medium get burned like this. Frankly, Rudy himself was not proud of htis either.

But it should still work in their favor. He strained his head up and he stared out at Penny, who had been frozen in shock at what had happened. Rudy nodded his head quickly, silently signalling her to make her own move. She appeared to take the hint and she immediately went to work.

Meanwhile, Rudy kept himself fully in Skrawl's field of vision. He could see those hateful eyes glaring at him even as Skrawl was coping with the pain of what happened ot him. He watched as the villainous jellybean seethed and struggled to set aside his own pain in order to deal with him. Slowly, the jellybean began to stomp his way towards him.

"Y-You think that this would slow me down...?" Skrawl let out a bitter chuckle. "You're so pathetic, little chalk wielder!"

"Wow, great comeback." Snap chuckled. He motioned his hand in Skrawl's direction. "Where did you learn that from? A garbage truck?"

Skrawl turned and growled at Snap, which was more than enough to silence him.

While Skrawl was looking away, Rudy decided now would be a good change to take advantage of this situation. If he could just move in a little closer, he might be able to get the edge over Skrawl. He just needed a bit of focus and planning, trying to think of exactly how he was going to pull this off and..

But he still remained frozen. The few seconds that he knew that he had were slipping by slowly. Each tick seemed to ring loudly inside of his head. It was driving him inside. He wanted to shake his head, but he feared that would waste too much time. And even regardless of that, he didn't have a ton of extra time to help Snap out. It wouldn't take that long at all for Skrawl to rush at him. _Oh gawd, he would never forgive himself if..._

"Rudy... Follow my lead." Penny whispered to him.

Rudy looked over at his friend. He couldn't tell that she had in mind simply by looking at her expression. But that was more than enough to tell him that he should trust her. He felt a smile spreading along his face as he watched her carefully. Although he really didn't know what to expect, he knew that he could believe in her.

Penny made a few gestures for him to come over and he followed her. It took him just a few seconds for him to realize that she was getting him into some sort of position about... he wasn't really sure how far it was, but at another position around Skrawl. Once he was there, she made a few motions with her hand and she went about to where she needed to be. Soon she was about straight across completely from where he was. Then she raised up her magic chalk and flicked it.

Rudy watched as it sailed over to his side and landed, leaving behind a trail of some sort of string-like stuff. He looked at this in confusion and then looked back at her. He shrugged his shoulders, showing her that he had no clue that she was getting at. Penny made a few quick motions, indicating his own magic chalk and signaling to toss it over at him. Rudy looked from her to his magic chalk and back again. It soon clicked inside of his head and his eyes widened.

Without another moment's hesitation, he gripped his own chalk tightly and tossed it in the same manner that she had. It clunked against the ground and Penny grabbed it. Soon the two of them were holding each other's chalk upwards, string-like material dangling downward, swaying slightly from side to side.

Rudy started to get the idea of what Penny was going for. He looked over at her for her signal. Sure enough, just as he thought would happen, she started to flip her head to one side a few times. This was more than enough for Rudy to understand what she was going for and he immediately followed suit.

While Skrawl was still distracted through his anger with Snap, Rudy and Penny began to walk around, or rather, run around Skrawl. They moved as quickly as possible, going in a continuous circle, wrapping the string around Skrawl's body and soon pinning his limbs to himself. It took a few seconds for Skrawl to realize what was going on and by the time he tried to do anything, it was too late. With one strong tug and a loud grunt, the deed was done.

The trio tried so hard not to laugh as Skrawl fell to the ground. He looked like some kind of burrito. He growled at them and started to flop about, almost like some kind of fish on land. Rudy couldn't hold it in completely and he released a snirk that rumbled through his throat in a sort of painful fashion. He rubbed his throat a few times and swallowed...only to resume chuckling.

Penny had a bit of an easier time. She just had her hand over her mouth and did little more than smile. But it was still clear that she found this rather humorous. Snap on the other hand was the worst of the three. For he had no control. As soon as Rudy had gave the slightest hint of a chuckle, Snap released his own laughter. He did not say anything; he just laughed and pointed a rounded blue hand in Skrawl's direction. His eyes were shut with a bit of a teary look to them from the shere force of laughter.

But as funny as this situation was, Rudy knew that they couldn't just stand around here and laugh forever. They had some more serious business to attend to. He forced himself to stop laughing, wiping away a tear for a moment, and then frown down at Skrawl. Now seemed like a good chance to take advantage of the situation and do something that they hadn't been able to before: lock up Skrawl.

It was truly a miracle that they even got him down on the ground like this, unable to free himself. Sure he shouted quite a lot, spewing out insults at him, struggling to try to make them do whatever he wanted. But he wasn't going to fall for it. He narrowed his eyes into small slits before shifting his gaze away and staring at the others. Penny immediately stopped her smiling and Snap... well it took him a little longer. A quick nudge with Penny's elbow was enough to make him stop, though.

"Where is that prison that we sent Butch to?" Rudy asked. His voice was a bit more stern than he wanted it to be. But this was a serious situation and he was not about to let this slide.

Snap scratched his head a little. He frowned a bit and looked like he was really thinking of some sort of answer. " _I._... think it was around.." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he looked left and right slowly. " _Eh_... That way." He pointed in one direction before lowering his hand and shaking his head. "No, I think that way." He tried looking in another direction, but even then, he looked so unsure.

Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly. "Don't you have a more definitive answer?"

Snap turned and glared at him. "We haven't been there in a while, okay?"

Rudy forced a small sigh through his partially open mouth. "I know that. Sorry, but I would really like to get this guy..."

"I know." Penny interrupted. "And don't worry. I know where the prison is." She looked down at Skrawl, giving him a slightly disgusted frown. "I'm sure they have a nice cell prepared for someone like him."

"Actually they do." Snap raised his hand up. "From what I understand, the wardens there had prepared a cell for Skrawl for a while now. It's just that Skrawl hadn't been caught...until _now_ that is." Snap motioned his hand towards the still flopping Skrawl.

"Release me right now you brats! You can't do this to me! I am your leader! You should be listening to me!"

Penny just shook her head slowly. "I have no idea what's gotten into you, Skrawl. This isn't like you."

Rudy didn't realize it until Penny brought it up, but she's absolutely right. Something was a little off about Skrawl today. Perhaps he was just getting tired of all his failures and was doing something a bit different. He was sounding a bit more like a generic villain right now than how he usually was. Must be just an off day for him. They all had that every so often.

He didn't think about that for too long. He couldn't; they had something more important to take care of right now. They didn't have time to worry about this. He turned his attention back to his friends. He moved a bit closer to them, his mind sifting through several thoughts. And the one thought that was formulating in his head the most was...

"I think I have an idea of how to move him." Rudy said. He tried not to go too slowly with this. He was not going to waste their one chance at getting Skrawl to where he belonged and that was jail. "First, we need to..."

Rudy stopped when he saw Penny and Snap's expressions becoming replaced with looks of horror. He was about to say something, but they suddenly shouted at him in unison. "Look out Rudy!"

Rudy immediately turned his head towards what was behind him, looking at where Skrawl was. But he had reacted too slowly and before he knew it, he could feel something sharp slashing against him. Red bloody lines appeared along his arm and he let out a cry of pain.

Skrawl had managed to get himself free.

Rudy staggered back a little, clutching his arm to himself. He seethed as he clenched his teeth. He looked up just in time to see a hand striking out at him. Rudy let out a gasp of pain as the long, slender, sharp-tipped fingers wrapped around his neck. He was then yanked towards Skrawl, held up above the ground. And looming over him was a very pissed off Skrawl, whose mismatched eyes almost seemed to glow. Desperation was clearly showing in those eyes.

Penny and Snap tried to get over as quickly as they could, shouting Rudy's name in desperation, their eyes widening. Penny even had her magic chalk raised up in hopes of drawing something. But she and Snap were both instantly frozen when Skrawl pressed his claws against Rudy's throat.

"One step closer and I'll rip out his throat!" Skrawl warned. He looked at Penny and Snap carefully, keeping his teeth bared in warning.

Although it was clear Penny and Snap wanted to do something, fear for what would happen to Rudy ruled over their minds. They breathed heavily as they looked from Skrawl to Rudy and back again. Their expressions slowly softened up and, with their teeth still bared at Skrawl, they took a small step backwards, their heads lowering slightly.

Rudy felt his heart twist when he saw the way that they were looking at him. They seemed so desperate, so hopeless. He wanted to say something to them to cheer them up. He wanted them to feel better about this. He wanted them to know that this wasn't their fault. They shouldn't have to look so guilty. But no matter what he tried, he couldn't bring himself to speak. Upon feeling the grip on his neck tighten, he grunted and wriggled a little before turning to glare at Skrawl.

The jellybean regarded him with a level of disgust, his lip curled up. There were no signs of Skrawl beginning to gloat or talk about some kind of scheme. It was as though his patience had worn out completely, replaced with nothing but frustration. It still didn't seem entirely like Skrawl, but that did not erase the urgency of the situation. Rudy started to struggle as best as he could, hoping to free himself somehow.

But no matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he struggled, it was just useless. Skrawl simply was not going to let him go that easily. And he proved that by slamming him into the ground, making him cry out in pain, and then lift him back up.

" _Rudy!_ " Snap and Penny shouted.

Skrawl put his face close to Rudy's, his eyes nearly glowing, his teeth exposed and dangerously close. It almost looked as though he was going to bite his head off or something. "I'm sick and tired of you getting in my way. I think it's time that I do something about that..."

Rudy could feel his eyes widen in horror. He struggled to hide his fear and he hissed, "Th-That's not my fault! If you tried to be a more productive member of this society, then maybe you..."

Skrawl didn't let him finish. Rudy let out a shout of pain, followed by his friends calling out for him, as Skrawl drove one of his claws into his arm, drawing a long bloody gash along its surface. "If I were you, artist boy, I wouldn't make a sound..."

Rudy shut his eyes tightly and growled. He remained like this for a few seconds before he reopened his eyes. He glared at the jellybean, but he kept silent. Reluctantly, he listened to what the jellybean had to say. What other choice did he have?

"I have gotten so sick and tired of you and your bratty friends ruining my beautiful plans! I could have had ChalkZone under my fingertips, under my command, but you keep ruining it for me! The one shot that I have at any sort of happiness, and you snag it from underneath my nose!" Skrawl had his face close to Rudy's, his hot breath hitting against the boy's. "I have tried to be patient, but you're really testing it..."

Rudy growled softly. He struggled a little against the zoner's grasp, although he didn't have much luck in freeing himself very much. The only thing that he did manage to do was just frustrate Skrawl a little further, which prompted him to squeeze his neck again. It was only for a few seconds, but it was enough to make Rudy stiffen up in pain.

After Skrawl was finished squeezing him, Rudy lowered his head and shook it a little. He gave a few soft pants as he stared out at the ground below him. The feelings of anger intermixed with his own confusion. Now he was really wondering what was up with Skrawl. Did he do something different to...

Suddenly Skrawl rammed him against a nearby wall, part of a tall skyscraper type of building. Rudy gripped at his thin arms and tried to yank them down without much success. He forced one of his eyes open and he glared down at the teal colored zoner. They remained like this for several long moments and it took a while before he could even bring himself to say anything.

"If ruling ChalkZone is the only thing that makes you happy..." Rudy hissed when Skrawl squeezed his neck once more. He still managed to say, "Th-Then you really are a sad, only zoner. What kind of l-l-life could you possibly be leading...?"

Skrawl's eyes widened at this before they narrowed into slits. "Don't try to analyze me, chalk boy..." And with that, Skrawl threw Rudy across the ground. The boy released several grunts and hisses of pain before his twirling body finally came to a rest. Skrawl glared at him for what felt like several long moments before he started to make his way over to him. "And if you think I'm.."

" _Leave him alone!_ "

Rudy looked up just in time to see Penny and Snap getting in front of him. They took position on either side of him, both adopting an aggressive stance, making it very clear that they were not going to let this large zoner get any closer. To Rudy's surprise, Skrawl did stop, although it did not look like he was going to be halted for very long. Especially judging by that expression.

Skrawl watched Penny and Snap carefully as he started to walk around in a broad circle. He looked at them up and down, his eyes darting about, studying every inch, every detail of them. He raised his lip into a partial snarl, looking rather disgusted by the whole thing. He looked as though he was more consumed by anger than ever before. Even their first meeting was not as hate-filled as this.

Eventually, Skrawl did stop and he took a position a bit further back. He folded his arms behind his back and took on an unreadable posture. At this, Rudy and his friends grew more tense, unsure of what to make of this. And it was only in this moment that Skrawl did finally give his signature smirk. This was the only once of 'normal Skrawl' that they had seen in this 'meeting' of sorts.

"I can promise you this, Master Tabootie. One of these days, you will fall. One of these days, I will find a way to bring you down..." Skrawl's smile grew more twisted as the seconds passed by. It started to make him look more and more familiar instead of this...whatever they had been given before. But still no less threatening. "I know there is a way to unravel the little pedestal that you stand on, and when I figure it out..."

Rudy and his friends watched with narrowed eyes as Skrawl lowered himself down and grabbed onto a stick that was on the floor. Then he raised himself up and he held the thing in front of him, showing them intently what he was holding. Then he lifted it up a bit higher and then, in a rather dramatic fashion, he snapped it in half, coupling it with a glaring smile. Although a simple action, its indication was enough to send a ripple of emotion through the trio.

Rudy could feel his heart tightening in his chest. He could feel his blood running cold as he realized the full implication of this. Skrawl was no longer trying to just enslave him. He was shifting back to his earlier plans, where he had wanted to _kill_ him...

He didn't know why at first. He had not expressed such desire in a long time. But perhaps... and he realized this a few seconds later, but what if Skrawl had simply been pushed to the edge a little too much? Didn't he utterly humiliate him earlier, with forcing him to rely on him for help with his Brain creation? Oh yes, he remembered that quite well. And that had been recent.

It struck Rudy like a sack of bricks. Suddenly his behavior was starting to make more sense. The reason Skrawl was acting like this, the reason he had become so unhinged, was because he had been embarrassed by having to be rescued by him. The very idea of him, the 'great and powerful Skrawl', needing help from the guy he was trying to enslave, must have snapped something inside of him. And now here Skrawl was, trying to do whatever he could to regain that dignity that he felt he had lost.

That all served to make Rudy feel even more fearful about this zoner. He didn't know what to expect of him. And the most that he could do right now was just narrow his eyes and glare intently at Skrawl, refusing to give him any chance at gaining the upperhand.

And it was obvious that his friends were not going to allow him a chance, either. He could see the way that they refused to move out of the way, even with the threat of this zoner before them. Snap's fists were raised up at his sides and his teeth were gritted in a growl. Penny still held the magic chalk in her hands. At this point, she had both of them, although they were pretty useless unless she was actually going to use them.

The tension in the air rose greatly, swimming through their minds. Adrenaline burned at their hearts and limbs, making them want to act faster. The anticipation of what was about to come swelled up significantly, and made their bodies tremble. They watched Skrawl carefully, waiting for any sign of action, any sign that he was going to do something, anything...

The longer nothing happened, the more tense Rudy got. He had no idea what was taking Skrawl so long to make a move. He had no idea why he was prolonging this. Perhaps just to be an asshole? Perhaps this was his way of getting even with him? Perhaps Skrawl just wanted to mess with his mind? He had no idea and that just made the feelings start to compound him. In some ways, this was worse than a direct attack and...

 _...wait.._

Rudy turned his head quickly to one side, getting an idea, a feel, for his surroundings. He hadn't realized it before, and he didn't know if his friends knew this as well. But they had ended up being boxed into a corner. Surrounded by tall walls and with nothing but Skrawl right before them, blocking their one way out. Rudy couldn't help but blink at this and ponder just what could have happened.

The thought exited his mind swiftly when Skrawl finally took action. It was sudden and out of nowhere, with no forewarning at all that it was going to occur. And due to this, his friends were too poorly prepared.

Rudy watched in horror as Snap and Penny were tossed aside like potato sacks. He could see their bodies hitting the ground and he flinched as he heard a few cracks. He struggled to crawl to them, only to be stopped by the slash mark on his arm. The stinging sensation caused him to yelp and hold the limb to himself. With tears forming in his eyes, he glared up at Skrawl.

The zoner just sneered down at him, his hands on his hips in a hawty fashion. It looked as though he were utterly proud of himself. That would be Skrawl alright. Slowly, deliberately so, Skrawl made his way towards Rudy.

"I should have done this a long time ago..." Skrawl hissed softly. "I had been too foolish before. Having you in here as my personal slave..." He tilted his head to one side, curling his lip up once more. "You would have found your way out and honestly... What good is a slave if they are not going to last long? Your pitiful human body wouldn't survive here. Honestly, I am doing you a favor by..."

Without warning, and much to Rudy's surprise, there was a strong electric shock that coiled through the zoner's body, causing him to stagger back a little. Rudy looked around and found Snap was just as surprised. When he looked over for Penny, he saw... _nothing_. She wasn't there. He felt himself bite his lip a little and he struggled to find her, and soon managed to locate her right before them.

Skrawl had been so distracted with his own talking, with his own obsessions, that he had failed to see Penny coming around behind him. She had drawn quickly, faster than she ever did before, and created something to fight against Skrawl with. The jellybean zoner did not see this coming, as evident on the look in his eyes.

The large zoner fell onto his knees, his hands clutching at himself, trembling from the electrical shocks. He remained like this for several long moments, his eyes widening and his teeth gritting tightly. He sucked in sharp breath after sharp breath, looking as though he was having a difficult time trying to take in oxygen. He looked almost pitiful if it weren't for what he had done earlier.

Skrawl turned his head and glared up at Penny. His full attention was now on her as he struggled up to his feet. He started to make his way over towards her, growling deeply, looking at her with a level of disgust. Penny didn't attempt to flee despite the danger that she was in. She just held up her tazer weapon or whatever it was, aimed at him and fully intending on using it. Skrawl just continued to glare at her and continued his way over towards her.

At this, Rudy tried to get up himself to try to help her. But he only ended up slipping and falling back down. He wasn't even sure what he was going to do to help. He didn't have any kind of magic chalk to help him out here. He looked up and his eyes widened as Skrawl got dangerously close and Penny looked like she was hesitating to do anything. He wasn't sure why she was delaying herself, but he...

There was a flash of blue and before he realized what was going on, Snap had rushed forwardr and launched himself at Skrawl. The blue zoner landed on top of him and gripped onto his antenna tightly, yanking as hard as he could.

"Back off, you oversized green potato!" Snap shouted as he twisted the antenna in his hands. Skrawl let out a loud scream and tried to free himself. But Snap only clinged harder.

Skrawl released a low growl through his clenched teeth. He turned his head and he attempted to grab at the zoner who dare try to pull on his antenna like that. Snap responded by yanking harder, which in turn caused Skrawl to release a scream. The jellybean staggered around as he struggled in vain to get a hold of Snap.

While this was going on, Penny had gotten back up to her feet. She held up the magic chalk, her eyes narrowing at Skrawl. She raised up the chalk and she was about to draw...

...only to be flung back when Snap was suddenly flung in her direction. Her eyes widened and she released a loud grunt as she and Snap were pushed up against the ground. Rudy watched this in utter horror, his mouth dropping open. He stared at them for several seconds before he attempted to call out their name.

"G-Guys!" He shouted, his mouth open and panting. " _A-Are you okay?!_ "

Penny pushed herself up from the ground. She coughed a little, spitting out what looked to be some bits of dirt. She wiped off her face a little and she nodded her head slowly. "Yeah I'm okay." She turned her head and she looked at Snap. "How about you?"

The blue zoner looked slighlty flattened from the shere force of Skrawl's toss. He took a little longer to lift up his head and when he did, he stared back at Rudy, and the boy was able to see the markings on his face. He flinched slightly. Had Skrawl really pushed him that hard into the ground?

Snap shook his head a little and he constantly wiped at his face. He soon pushed himself up from the ground. He took a moment to wipe himself off before he turned and stared back at Rudy. "I'll be as fine as I'll ever be, but sheesh, Skrawl..."

The three of them instantly froze at that. It was in that moment that they recalled Skrawl was still with them. They had no idea how they could have forgotten even for a moment that he was there. They swung their heads over to confront the jellybean zoner once more.

Only to find that he had already left.

Rudy widened his eyes as he looked around slowly. He tried to peer as carefully as possible at every location on the ground. Every inch, every foot. And there was nothing that could be seen. There were no signs of Skrawl being there or anywhere nearby. He didn't know how he did it. He didn't know how Skrawl managed to pull it off, but he had left them alone. This made Rudy grit his teeth tightly in frustration.

How could they have let him escape? This should have been so easy. They should have succeeded. But instead, they had let their own confusion about Skrawl's behavior get the better of them, and this allowed Skrawl to get away. A part of Rudy was worried that Skrawl might try this in the future whenever they get this close to ensure that they wouldn't be able to catch him.

He could feel his stomach burning at this realization and he tried his best to keep himself calm. But he didn't know how much longer he could remain calm before he had to do something. So much of him just wanted to shout...

But he knew in the end that what mattered the most was at least Skrawl was stopped for now. He was no longer in the vicinity and he was no longer threatening any of the other zoners. Even if they didn't manage to catch him yet, even if they had let this opportunity slip through their finger tips, at least they stopped Skrawl before he could really hurt someone.

As soon as he said that, he felt a wave of pain striking him in his arm. He seethed as he lifted up his limb and took a look at it. He looked at his gash, which had stopped bleeding at this point. He moved his eyes up and down it, stroking the discolored skin lightly, and he couldn't help but flinch. That horrible stinging sensation was going to be with him for a while, he could tell.

"Bucko!" Snap cried out. "Are you okay?!"

"Yes, I'm fine." Rudy told him immediately. Something of a small lie, but he didn't want his friends to be too worried about him. But that didn't seem to be enough and he could feel Snap's hand gripping his arm tightly. "Snap, I said I'm fine!"

"But he got you pretty good, Bucko!" Snap said right back at him. "I mean, look at this... He had.."

Rudy yanked his arm back. He glared softly at Snap, although he couldn't really be that upset with him. He could understand why he was like this. He just wished that he would relax a little. Reacting like this was not going to help.

Seeing movement in the corner of his eyes, he turned his head and he stared over at Penny. She looked pretty concerned as well. Rudy tried not to let out an exasperated sigh at this. He remained silent as Penny moved in closer. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stop her. She could be more stubborn than Snap when it came to this sort of thing. So he just remained silent and let Penny do her thing.

The young girl reached over and grabbed onto Rudy's arm lightly. She held it up gently and she looked over the injury. Rudy tried not to flinch as he could feel her fingers trailing along his skin, looking around for any sort of potential problems. Rudy doubted she would find anything that serious, but he might be wrong. He didn't know as much about anatomy as Penny did.

Eventually Penny turned and looked over at him. There was a clear look of concern on her face, which was enough to make Rudy grit his teeth. He could feel a sense of foreboding climbing into his throat and he felt his heart skipping a beat or two. He stared at Penny, trying his best not to look too worried, and he waited for her to speak up.

And soon enough, she did.

"This looks a bit infected, Rudy." Penny spoke. Her voice was soft and filled with concern. "I think we should head out now and get this looked at."

Rudy looked down at his arm. He bit his lip softly. "Yeah, it does look pretty bad..."

"But I don't think it's anything to worry about. Those doctors of yours will have you patched up in no time!" Snap was clearly trying to look on the bright side of things. And honestly, he was right.

Penny agreed, nodding her head. "It shouldn't be an issue. But it's still best to get it taken care of as soon as possible."

"All right then. We do have to leave soon anyway and..."

Rudy paused for a moment. He turned his head and he tried once more to see where Skrawl had gone off to. He couldn't see that jellybean anywhere. No sign of where he could have fled. No sign of which direction he might have taken. He only knew that he was gone, having disappeared, and none of them knew where he could have went.

But although he was frustrated by this, there was little reason for him to remain upset. At least not now. He had other things to take care of first, such as this injury on his arm. He and his friends could discuss later where Skrawl could have gone and go from there. Right now, he...

"Skrawl's getting really desperate, don't you two think?" Snap's voice suddenly cut through the air. It was enough to startle Rudy and Penny; they hadn't expected him to speak so loudly and so suddenly like that. "I mean, since when has he tried to directly attack Rudy like that? He usually...doesn't do that." Not much of an explanation, but it was still enough for Rudy and Penny to get what he was saying.

And it was true. Skrawl hadn't really tried this before. He tried to capture Rudy. He tried to lock him up in a sinking museum. He tried to enslave him. He tried to get him defeated by a robot duplicate. But all those were indirect. There hadn't been a time when Skrawl seriously tried to hurt him on his own. That really did seem like a sign that he was getting desperate.

And he believed he knew why.

But he decided not to bring it up for now. He could inform his friends of what he noticed later. His arm was really starting to sting now and Penny's earlier words about infection was starting to worry him. Yeah, it was best to just wait on telling them. Right now, best to just leave before his parents realized that he was gone.

"We'll have to be more careful next time around." Said Penny. There was a sense of caution in her voice. She looked around carefully, her body going a little rigid. "I have a feeling that this was just a small preview of what's about to come."

Rudy felt his teeth clenching tightly at this. He couldn't exactly deny that. Knowing Skrawl, he might try something worse than this later on. This was but just a mere taste of what he was going to try later on. And that only made him and the others feel even more tense. This was evident by the sudden silence that fell upon them, unable to shake it off. They looked at each other nervously, and this lasted for several long moments.

It took a while before Snap managed to break it. And when he did, he gave a small chuckle as though he were trying to laugh it off. "I don't think we have anything to worry about. I-I am sure we can handle this." He gave a small smile. "He can't take on _two_ creators."

At this, Rudy and Penny looked at each other. They wanted to agree with Snap. They wanted to take into consideration what he was saying. They both knew that Skrawl had no creator at his side.

And yet at the same time, it was still a worry. It was still something that they could not set aside that easily. They both knew full well that Skrawl could come up with something. It was best if they remained on their guard. Whatever Skrawl was up to, they would have to figure out what it was as soon as possible. They could not chance anything.

But for the time being, they would call this a victory.

sss

Skrawl growled to himself, his teeth clenching tightly. He could feel his mind swirling with several thoughts regarding what just happened. He breathed in and out deeply, raspily, and he couldn't stop himself. He could feel his mind spinning and burning and it took every part of him not to lash out at whatever was in front of him.

He realized very quickly that he had been lucky to have escaped when he did. He was so close, so very close, to having been captured and locked away. If that had happened, he would have had to kiss his brilliant plans goodbye. It would have been quite difficult to get himself out of there and it wasn't like his Beanie Boys would have been able to help. No doubt those brats would have had him sent to the highest security prison...

Skrawl let out a seething breath out of his mouth, his large tongue moving along his yellow teeth as he struggled to get the taste of failure out of his mouth. He spat a few times before wiping his mouth as he continued down through the dark and disarrayed alleyway. This wasn't the place that he hoped he would come out at, but it was better than nothing, as far as he was concerned.

Skrawl still couldn't believe that he had slipped up so easily. He shouldn't have tried this new method. He should have went in with a plan. He should have acted more like himself. He didn't know why he took that random zoner's advice to 'try something different'. He had a feeling that said zoner was actually setting him up to fail. And he himself fell for it.

But how was that possible? He wondered if it was his fault on some level. Not that it could be mostly his fault; that would be pretty stupid and unrealistic. He was Skrawl, after all. He was almost never wrong, if ever. But in this case, he did have to take at least partial blame. He had gotten a little too carried away and he didn't act like he normally would. That threw him off of his game and allowed Rudy and his stupid friends to beat him. Or rather, nearly beat him as he managed to get away before they could do that.

He growled softly as he recalled how he had Rudy in his grasp. He should have just snapped the boy's neck and be done with it. He didn't know why he had not done that. What had stopped him? What caused him to hesitate? He shook his head. It didn't matter now. What did was trying to figure out what he was going to do next.

A part of him realized that he should have brought the Beanie Boys with him. He should have realized that he might need their help. They could have helped turn the tides a little. They could have distracted the others and...

...and probably make things worse. His Beanie Boy crew weren't what they used to be at the moment. He was in the progress of trying to train some more Beanie Boys and it was creating...quite the conundrum. All of this 'best' Beanie Boys had their hands filled and the remainder... Well, they wouldn't be able to take candy from a baby. They were that awful.

But that didn't mean that he was going to give up quite yet. He had some thoughts circulating through his mind and he wasn't about to let things slip through his claws that easily. He told himself that he would make Rudy pay for humiliating him before with Brain, and he quite the heck meant it. He just needed to focus on struggling to find out what he was going to do about that, and how he would handle this. If he couldn't rely on the Beanie Boys for help, then _who_ could he rely on..?

Well he knew that he would figure out something. It wasn't impossible to figure out the right path. It was just a little hard, is all. He just needed to think outside of the box a little more. Something was bound to come to his mind and...

At the moment, nothing was really coming to his head. He didn't know yet who would help him defeat Rudy. Especially considering his almost celebrity status in ChalkZone. _The Great Protector... Bah,_ he scoffed at the thought.

Well he needed to head home anyway. He would figure things out, and when he finally did...

Master Tabootie will be down on his knees. Skrawl chuckled at that delightful thought.


	3. Attack In The Street

Rudy took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He struggled to keep his mind at rest. He tried so hard, and had been doing so for a while, to forget what had happened back there, with Skrawl, the other day. He tried to tell himself that the fact that he and his friends had beaten him should be good enough and that there was no need to keep worrying about this.

And yet the thought still hovered over his head, unable to be cleared. He still couldn't stop thinking about the way that the jellybean had acted, and how he had tried to hurt him, perhaps even kill him. He couldn't let go of the fact that he had gotten so close to defeating him _and yet..._

He released a small growl through his clenched teeth. He didn't think that there would be another time. He highly doubted it. Far as he knew, he had wasted his chance. They all had. And the one time that they could have had Skrawl locked away slipped through their fingers. Now they were back on square one again and they would need to wait for him to strike again before they could do anything.

He had his doubts that Skrawl would give them another chance like this. He doubted that Skrawl would just risk doing something that dumb again that nearly got him captured. He would take precautions to ensure that it wouldn't happen again. And he would probably revert back to his usual behavior. And if there was one thing that he knew about that, it's the fact that Skrawl does what he can to lessen the chances of capture. The jellybean wasn't stupid; he knew he was up against a creator. So the trick was to do things a certain way to ensure that he didn't get caught.

And that included being slippery like an eel. The thought made Rudy cringe. But it was rather fitting of the jellybean zoner. He was such a conniving monster, and he would never forgive him after the way that he had tried to kill everyone. He didn't know what possessed Skrawl to do something so extreme, and at this moment, he didn't really care. He just wished that he could get him locked up and be done with it.

Oh well, there was nothing that he could do about it now. He should just focus on trying to relax a little bit. It had been a day since the incident and nothing's happened so far. Skrawl probably fled to his hideout to mope about his recent failure. That seemed to be the usual behavior out of him.

Rudy shouldn't let that jellybean control his head like that. He should try to focus on having a good time. Wasn't there something going on today? He thought he heard Snap talking about it before. Something with Queen Rapsheeba, although he couldn't quite remember the details. No matter, he could always go and find the zoner.

Rudy was about to get up and try to find her when he could hear the sound of a bell ringing not far from him. A swift ringing, that was more like...

He turned his head and he could see Penny and Snap walking out of a nearby store. The door was still in the progress of swinging closed. It went back and forth a little before it stopped moving altogether. Snap appeared to be holding a back of something in his hand, his usual smile on his face, and Penny was frowning at him. Not out of real anger, but more annoyance.

"I can't believe you got that..." Penny mumbled softly. She tapped her foot in an impatient manner as she glared down at Snap. "That's not even...!"

" _Oh contrare!_ " Snap said as he gave her a closed-eyed 'I do not give a fuck' stare. He held his bag out away from Penny as though he thought she was going to steal it. He then turned and stared at the bag, his eyes going wide and sparkling. "This is going to be fantastic!"

Rudy tilted his head to the side. He had no idea what they were talking about. Curious, he got up to his feet. He had to stop for a moment to stretch out his sore muscles. He wondered briefly just how long he had been sitting down. He shrugged it off quickly and he moved on forward, his eyes remaining upon his friends, his eyes darting left and right.

He watched them carefully, listening to how they argued. Penny didn't try to steal the bag, but Snap still acted as though she was trying to take it. He held it behind him protectively, staring intently at her. He wondered just what they could be bickering about. He waited until he got a good distance in front of them before he attempted to speak.

"Hey guys!" He watched as Penny and Snap turned towards him. They waved back at him, smiling. Rudy smiled back at them and proceeded to move over more swiftly. "What's going on?"

At this, Snap did his dramatic eye roll and swaying body posture that he often did when he was trying to 'play the victim'. "I wanted to buy this awesome costume, but she..." He pointed at Penny. "..wouldn't help me!"

"Only because you wanted me to counterfeit money, and besides, that's not even the right costume for..."

"I don't care! I think it looks good and if you don't...!" Snap glared back at her.

"Guys! Please, stop it!" Rudy rushed in between them. He held up his hands and put them out, trying to force some distance between Snap and Penny. He looked at them, feeling rather disappointed in their behavior. "I'm surprised at you two. Why are you fighting?"

Penny blinked at this. Then she sighed, "I'm not really that mad. I just..." She held up her hand in gesture as she motioned it towards Snap. "I wish he would be more patient."

"What?!" Snap raised an eyebrow at this. "I am plenty patient!"

Rudy and Penny just stared at him with a disbelieving expression. They didn't say a word. They didn't need to. Their silent stares were more than enough for Snap to realize what they were telling him. And it was enough to get through to him.

The zoner sighed softly, his body going a bit lax. "Okay so maybe I did get a little too excited for this. I..." He rubbed the back of his head nervously as he motioned towards Penny. "I'm...sorry I tried to pressure you into doing that."

Penny gave him a small smile. "Apology accepted.

Rudy, wanting to get the topic moving instead of letting it linger too much, took a few steps towards Snap. He stared intently at the bag that he still held in his blue hand. "What kind of costume did you get anyway?"

Snap stared at him in confusion for a moment. Then it clicked in his head. "Oh, hold on!" Snap reached into his bag and rummaged through it. Then he seemed to grab onto something and he yanked it out completely. "Ta da!"

Rudy blinked a few times when he found himself staring at what appeared to be some kind of dress. Yellow-green and mossy, with red pedals that grew out and hung almost heavily at the sides. The costume looked a bit bigger than Snap, but at the same time, it didn't seem like it was too large for him to wear. And here Snap was holding it up with such pride.

"Uh, Snap...?" Rudy asked, a little hesitantly. "You...sure that's the right one you want to wear? I mean..."

"You mean what, Bucko?" Snap said slowly, giving Rudy a questioning look.

Rudy tripped over his tongue as he tried to find out how to properly word it. "Well, it seems to be the wrong color. Those colors clash with you." Rudy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps something more violet might work..."

Snap just gave him a knowing smirk. "And that's why I've got you, Rudy."

Rudy just stared at him blankly with an 'oh really' look on his face. Snap just continued to smile at him.

"What are you looking at me like that for, Bucko? This should be a piece of cake for you!" Snap raised up the dress that he bought, motioning his hand over it. "Just use your magic chalk to spruce it up a little." He held the dress against himself, his white eyes somehow growing larger and a bit watery. "Please, Bucko? I need this dress for my next date with Rapsheeba!"

Penny let out a small growl as she pressed her hand to her head. She looked like she was about to speak and make some kind of comment. But she apparently thought better of it and kept herself quiet. She lowered her hand down at her side and remained quiet, even if it a part of her better judgment told her otherwise.

Rudy stared at Snap almost blankly. He could see the way Snap was looking at him, his eyes taking notice of the facial expression that the zoner wore upon his face. He could not take his eyes away from Snap no matter how hard that he tried. He could feel his stomach twisting up inside with a variety of emotions.

A part of him was still worried about the incident with Skrawl earlier. He would have preferred that they speak more on that issue instead of just standing arund here gawking at one another. But at the same time, having some kind of break from that would be rather nice. He would like to relax a little and working on Snap's costume did seem like it took a lot less strain on his mind than trying to figure out Skrawl's next plan.

So sure, why not? He could toy around with this costume a little and fix it up for his friend. It wouldn't take too long, but no matter. Any amount of time not having to think about Skrawl would help him relax a little. After this, though, despite things, he would have to get them to talk with him about Skrawl and what they were going to do about him.

Reaching his hand out towards Snap, he said, "Okay, Snap. Hand it over."

Penny looked over at him, blinking a few times. "You're seriously going to..."

"Hey, the magnificent artist made up his mind." Snap said, waving his hand dismissively at Penny. "Don't interrupt him."

Penny looked down at him with a small smirk and eyebrow raised up. "Well I guess even comical sidekicks..."

Snap turned and shot a glare at Penny. "What did you call me...?"

Penny immediately raised her hands up, motioning them out in a way of showing that she meant no harm. "Easy now, Snap. I didn't mean anything by it."

Though he gave a displeased snort, Snap did seem to quickly cool down. It would seem that he was not as bothered by it as last time. Perhaps he was just in too good of a mood to let it get sored so easily from Penny's teasing comment. Instead of replying to her, Snap just looked back at Rudy. "So what do you say, Bucko? Going to help get this dress ready for me?"

Rudy gave a couple of chuckles. He took a step forward and reached out to grab the dress. "Sure, I'll..."

Suddenly there was a loud sound. Something that reverberated everywhere. Something that sent chills through their bodies and made them shudder. They all froze where they were and looked around. It took them a few seconds to realize just what that sound had been.

It was Rapsheeba's screaming.

" _Aaaaahh!_ "

The three friends turned their heads in the direction of that sound. They could not see anything, which meant it must be happening further downtown. They instantly recognized that direction as from the main street of ChalkZone City. They glanced at one another, giving each other a nod, before running off in that direction, hoping to find Rapsheeba before things could get worse.

As they ran, Rudy's mind thudded with several thoughts. He tried to think of just what could be happening. Had it been Skrawl again? Was that zoner so desperate that he would strike again a day later? That hadn't been his usual style. But then again, he has gotten quite determined lately, and this determination could have caused him to do something like this. All just for the hope of some sort of victory against him to heal his injured pride, no doubt.

But if it wasn't Skrawl, then who else could it be? Rudy had to think of other possibilities so that he could be more prepared. What if it was Craniac? Or those vampire characters? Or the Sandman? Or several others that he had failed to mention? Even if he had defeated some of these other zoners, that didn't mean that they couldn't strike back. It was hard to tell when it came to whether or not they'd come back. _If they were anything like Skrawl..._

His train of thought was interrupted when he and his friends turned a corner and ended up on the main strip of road. And it was after this that they were all able to see exactly what was going on.

There, just in front of them, was Rapsheeba. She was surrounded by a group of zoners. Rudy had never seen any of them before. Or perhaps he had. Said zoners were all stick figures, the really basic kind. It was difficult to tell these zoners apart at times. Not something that he was proud to admit, but it was true. For all he knew, he might have spoken to them before and... Oh what was he doing? He shouldn't be standing here thinking about this. He should be trying to help out Rapsheeba.

Snap immediately jumped into the air as he saw one of the stick figure zoners try to strike out against Rapsheeba. With his hands grasping his cheeks, he cried out, "Queenie!" As soon as he landed, he rushed towards her. "I'll save you!"

At this, the stick figure zoners turned their heads to see the blue and white zoner coming right at them. They shifted their expressions from being shocked to being furious. With a few still keeping Rapsheeba at bay, a couple of the others turned themselves around to face the incoming superhero zoner. In a matter of seconds, they collided with one another.

Snap pulled back his fist and he struck one of the stick figure zoners. Said zoner gasped in pain and fell to the ground, clutching their side. Another stick figure zoner come barreling in, their hands spread out. They attempted to grab onto Snap. But Snap was too fast for them. He dove down to avoid getting grabbed. And then he swung himself around and kicked out with his foot. He hit the stick figure zoner's leg and this caused them to fall into the ground.

Rudy and Penny watched in silent amazement as Snap fought back against the stick figure zoners. Despite being horribly outnumbered, he was keeping up a good pace and managed to handle himself well. They watched as Snap continued to punch, trip, and kick the zoners, attempting to drive them back away from Rapsheeba.

But his luck did not last forever.

After what felt like several minutes, when in reality it was more like thirty seconds, the stick figure zoners managed to gain the upperhand. While Snap was busy giving one another punch to the jaw, two of the other ones ganged up behind him and jumped on top of him. The two stick figure zoners held onto his arms tightly and pulled him roughly upwards. Snap struggled, but he was not able to free himself.

"Let go of me!" Snap shouted at them. He wriggled himself from side to side. "And leave Rapsheeba alone! She didn't do anything to you!"

One of the stick figure zoners just scoffed at this. "For you to say that, it's obvious you don't understand."

Another nodded their head. "That's right! She isn't what she seems... and neither are you!" The stick figure zoner pulled back their fist and struck against Snap, causing the zoner to cry out in pain. "Perhaps you will understand better when it's _beaten into you!_ "

"Stop! You can't..." Snap's voice dissolved into a few shouts and cries of pain as several of the stick figure zoners began to strike against him.

"Snap!" Rapsheeba shouted in horror. She tried to reach out towards him, but she was pushed against the nearby wall before she could do anything.

Amongst his struggling, Snap managed to pull his head out of the frenzy long enough to call out, "Rudy! Help me!"

Rudy and Penny stiffened up in horror at this. They couldn't stop watching, for the next few long seconds, Snap being beat up like this. Granted, the attacks did not look ike they were doing as much damage as they could. It was like the stick figure zoners were deliberately holding back. But that did not change the fact that they were attacking him at all, and he was in clear distress. Without a moment's hesitation, they rushed over as quickly as possible.

Penny focused her attention on getting Rapsheeba away. She turned herself a little until her shoulders could be used as a weapon. She rammed against the zoners holding onto Rapsheeba, knocking them back. She soon became entangled in a fight with them. Although she did not have the same level of fighting experience as Snap did, she was still strong enough to take on these zoners. She was soon able to keep them back long enough for Rapsheeba to gain some distance from what was happening.

While Penny did this, Rudy rushed to where Snap was being attacked. He was going to shout at the zoners at first until he realized that he might accidentally cause them to hurt Snap worse. So instead, he focused on getting out his magic chalk and drawing something really fast. He didn't have time to think of what he was going to do. He just quickly drew, his arm and hand scripping across rapidly, until he managed to form something in the air. It materialized and it fell right into his hands.

A leafblower. _Of all_ the things that he could have drawn, it _had_ to be a _leafblower_. Rudy glared at his 'invention' but soon shrugged it off. He then pointed it directly at the zoners before him. He flipped it on and this caused a reversal suction, a loud whistling sound coming through. And the affect was almost instant.

One of the stick figure zoners let out a scream as they were pulled back. They were pressed up against the leafblower, unable to escape. Rudy then pointed said zoner at their fellow comrades, who had frozen in shock of what was about to happen. Although Rudy was not too keen on hurting anyone, he understood that sometimes there wasn't another option. Flipping the switch in reverse, he spat out the zoner from the leafblower's tip, causing them to sail across the air towards their comrades.

Rudy flinched as the zoner hit against the others. They collapsed into the ground painfully, becoming entangled with one another. The impact was like a domino affect, and soon several stick figure zoners were on the ground. The ones that were still standing stared at the scene in shock. They then lifted their heads up and glared at Rudy.

Snap got up to his feet and called out, "You've gotta draw something fast, Rudy! Stop them!"

Rudy took in a few shaky breaths as he scrambled to think of what else that he could draw. He didn't have much time. The leafblower was a nice touch and it did help him gain some ground. But he couldn't just stand here gawking at them forever. He needed to quickly draw something else to stop them before they manage to to strike back.

The zoners were already getting up to their feet. As they did so, Rudy noted that there was a lot more of them than he had realized. Several of them popping up from the ground almost like daisies. The sight of this caused him to freeze and back away. He didn't hear anything that Snap was saying to him; he could only watch in fear as the zoners started to close in on him.

The only thing that broke him out of this trance was when there was a sudden flash of water right before him. He shook his head, stunned by this out of nowhere event. The zoners were easily caught on it and they were washed away, ramming against a nearby building. Rudy quickly followed the water's trail and he soon found the source of it.

Penny stood there, her hand clutching onto the hose. Next to her, Rapsheeba stood, hiding a bit behind her, seeking the protection of a creator. Penny's teeth were gritted and she growled softly as she kept the hose on the zoners. She showed no signs of pulling it away anytime soon.

The stick figure zoners, at least the ones caught in the water, were coughing and spluttering. They struggled in the water's high pressure waves. They seemed to be trying to shout threats at them, but they barely got a word in edgewise. They were muffled by the water's loud roars and their own incoherent shouting and coughing. It was an almost comical sight to see. A group of zoners elevated above the ground for several long-stretching seconds. Rudy wasn't even sure how much time had passed when Penny finally released them.

With a loud thud, the zoners fell to the ground. They landed on top of each other, many of them groaning in pain. They rolled off of each other before climbing up to their feet. They wobbled and they shook their hands as they attempted to dry themselves off. Water dripped everywhere as though they were nothing more than wet rags with feet.

But if Rudy and the others thought that they were finished, they were rapidly mistaken. The stick figure zoners had no intention on leaving, and this was proven when a couple of the zoners, the couple that were not caught in the water's rush, charged at Rudy and Penny. One per creator.

Rudy tried to see what was happening with Penny, but his attention was quickly drawn to the zoner before him. Rudy jumped back as the stick figure tried to attack him, their hand just narrowly missing punching him. Rudy kept doing his best to dance around the zoner, his body moving from side to side. But he knew that he couldn't keep this up forever. He...

His eyes widened as he felt the fist striking against his stomach. He let out a pained gasp for air as he collapsed against the ground. The stick figure zoner immediately got on top of him. Rudy looked up with wide eyes as the furious stick figure glared down at him, their teeth bared, looking ready to tear right into him. He could see the fist being pulled back and ready to strike him.

Trying to think fast, Rudy tried to pull out his magic chalk quickly to draw something. However, the stick figure zoner took immediate notice of it and swatted it out of his hands. Rudy yelped as the sharp tips of the stick figure's fingers sliced against him. He tried to pull his currently bandaged arm to himself, but the stick figure zoner reached out and grabbed on tightly.

Immediately, shockwaves of pain spread throughout his arm. He struggled to keep his jaws clinched shut tightly. But he wasn't able to keep it like this forever. Before he realized what was happening, he released a loud, pain-filled scream.

The stick figure zoner chuckled darkly at this. "Not so tough _now, are you...?_ "

Rudy took in a few shaky breaths as he stared at the stick figure. "Why are you..." 

The zoner just snarled at this, exposing their teeth. "You should know... But no matter. Even if you continue to uphold such a lie.." The zoner's mouth twisted up into a dark smile, their teeth exposed in a near sadistic grin. "It won't change a damn thing. Because all I need to do is..." The zoner leaned their head in close, causing Rudy to try to shrink away from them. He could not get far. "...get rid of you...and it won't be a problem anymore..."

Rudy felt his blood run cold at this statement, his eyes going wide in utter horror. He struggled to breathe. Each breath felt too heavy and he thought he could feel his lungs already burning from the lack of oxygen. His mind reeled rapidly and he felet himself spinning around in circles.

What the fuck did this zoner have against him? Why were they doing this? It didn't make any sense. He never saw this zoner before. He did not do anything to them. Why did...

"Rudy!" Penny suddenly shouted. Her cries echoed in the air and her heavy footfalls could be heard barrelling towards them. Her voice shifted focus on the stick figure as she shouted, "Get off of him!"

Rudy watched as Penny struck the stick figure zoner hard, her fist landing on their jaw. The stick figure zoner let out a screech of pain as they stumbled back away from Rudy. They landed in the ground painfully, rolling over like a sack of potatoes. Rudy stared at this for several seconds, his chest pounding, his rushing mind struggling to come to terms with what had happened. He then lifted his head up and stared over at Penny, licking his lips rapidly.

"P-Penny..." He managed to say before he fell silent.

Penny looked at him sympathetically. Her eyes moved along him, studying him carefully. She soon paid special attention to his arm, reaching out and gently touching it. "You aren't hurt too badly, are you...?" Penny whispered softly, her voice filled with concern. "Did..."

Rudy shook his head. "N-No. I am fine."

Penny furrowed her eyes with worry. "Are you sure?"

Rudy nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm sure." Rudy instantly let out a small seethe as Penny gripped onto his arm and pulled him up to his feet. He managed to quickly balance himself, Penny helping him out by letting him weigh himself against her. He looked at her and he gave a small smile. "Thank you."

"Guys..." They could hear Rapsheeba whisper as she moved up to them. "I don't think we should celebrate just yet..."

Snap backed up into them as well, his fists raised up, eyes narrowed into slits. "Don't worry, Bucko and Buckette and Queenie... I-I'll keep them at bay..." Although Snap tried to look brave, with his fists raised up, he still ended up showing signs of fear as all the stick figure zoners, albeit a few limping a little from the water incident, began to circle around them.

It seemed as though there was no escape. It looked as if they weren't going to be able to get out of here. It looked like they were going to be trapped permanently and there was nothing more that they could do. The group of friends remained huddled, Rudy baring his teeth and Penny holding up what little remained of their last piece of chalk. Their last line of defense. But would it do them any good right _now...?_

The zoners closed in further, growling softly. There were too many of them. They wouldn't be able to fight them off. Penny could try drawing something, but she had only enough chalk left for one more thing. And who knows if that was going to work or not? She would have to make sure that it counted. But would these stick figure zoners even give her enough time to draw? It was highly unlikely. It looked as if they...

But then suddenly they stopped. This caused a ripple of confusion throughout Rudy and his friends. They stared with uncertainty as the stick figure zoners just glared at them, but made no further advancements. It was as though they felt compelled to do something but were blocked, unable to advance forward. Rudy licked his lips and swallowed hard. What was going on?

Then finally, one of the stick figure zoners spoke up.

"I think we've had enough tangoing for one day." The zoner in question placed their hand to their cheek, looking at them with an unreadable expression. "This isn't what we hoped would happen, but I suppose we cannot all choose, right?"

No one responded to their question.

The stick figure zoner, possibly the leader, just chuckled. "I guess that's that, then. I think it's best to end this fight here, don't you think?" The stick figure turned their back to them. "Just remember that you haven't seen the last of us. And don't think we will go easy on you next time we collide." The zoner paused for a moment and then gave a sideways glare to Rudy. "That goes _doubley_ for you... _Rudy Tabootie_..."

Rudy gulped at this, but remained silent. He and his friends glared as they watched the zoners leave the area. They didn't dare turn their gaze away, fearing that if they did so, the zoners might change their minds and come back to get them. It was only after the zoners disappeared completelely that they attempted to settle themselves down. But only just a little.

Penny turned and faced Rapsheeba. "Are you okay?"

Snap nodded his head as he looked at her. "Yeah, are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

Rapsheeba rubbed her head slowly. "I-I am okay..." She swallowed and said, "Th-Thank you..."

"What happened?" Rudy managed to say, asking the tough question. He could feel his mouth filling with bile, tasting its foulness. "Why did they attack you? What did they want from you?"

Rapsheeba didn't answer right away. She just trembled a little bit, as though trying to get the emotions out of her system. She wiped her brow and she looked up at Rudy and Penny and Snap. She eventually managed to answer, although her voice was quite soft and slightly hard to hear at first. "A-A-All I know is that they were upset about m-my upcoming party..."

"What...?" Penny asked, her eyebrow cocking up. "Why would they be upset about that?"

Rapsheeba shrugged, shaking her head. "I don't know... I-I wish I knew... I..."

Snap reached over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay, Queenie. Don't worry about them." Snap moved his other hand forward to grab onto her hand. He gently squeezed it. "They won't bother you again. We'll make sure of it." Rudy and Penny nodded in silent agreement at this.

Rapsheeba looked at them for a few moments. She soon smiled. Although small and weak, it was enough to give off a radiance, showing just how grateful she was for their help. She tried to speak, but she fell silent quickly. Words were not necessary.

Rudy looked at her sympathetically, his mind unable to fully relax. He kept repeating her words over and over again in his mind as he bit his lip firmly. He constantly asked himself the same question over and over again: Just why did those zoners attack Rapsheeba due to her party?

He just could not understand it. _What_ about her party was _so_ offensive to them? What had she done to piss them off so much? Were they jealous? Were they rivals? He knew that it couldn't be due to exclusion; Rapsheeba just wasn't that kind of person. So there had to be something else going on here that he just wasn't getting. He licked his lips slowly as he struggled to figure out what this something could be. But his mind could only draw a blank.


	4. Shadows

Well this sucked.

There was nothing else that could be said about this situation. There was nothing else that could be said to describe it. All that was possible to say is that it was just horrible. They had been doing well, but they weren't prepared and this ended up happening to them. _Well fuck them..._

Jonathan seethed, his teeth pressing so hard against each other that it was wonder he was not being sent straight to the dentist. He ground his teeth slowly from side to side as he thought of what had just happened. His mind was spinning in circles and he struggled to breathe. He just could not comprehend what had happened to them. He could not understand how they had lost. They had their goal right in their grasp and...

Well that didn't matter anymore, now did it? No matter how hard that they tried, it was meaningless in the end. It didn't change the fact that Rapsheeba had managed to get away from them and they weren't able to stop her. They had been driven away because of that fucking creator and his stupid friends. It was all their fault that this had happened. It was their fault that...

He forced a sigh through his clenched teeth. He could not put the entire blame on those morons. It was his leader that had opted to just leave. It was his leader, their leader, that turned tail and ran instead of staying and fight. They had the chance. Those two humans had gotten tired. They could have been stopped. _Why did his leader decide to..._

He turned his head and he could hear some murmurings and statements. It would seem that he was not the only one who was confused by this decision. He was not the only one bothered by the choice to leave instead of keeping on fighting. There were few other fellow zoners here who felt that this had been the right choice.

"We had them on the run!"

"We could have captured them!"

" _Yeah!_ I don't know what our leader was thinking!"

"Maybe he's turned into a chicken."

Jonathan flinched at that accusation, licking his lips slowly. While he understood the frustration, he wouldn't call their leader a 'chicken' per say. He was certain that their leader had a good reason. Surely he wouldn't have just abandoned this whole situation just because of a bad feeling, right...?

Jonathan shook his head, emptying his mind of all those thoughts. He began to look around the room, trying to locate the leader himself. Most of his comrades were nervous about confronting him head on. That was why they preferred talking about him behind his back like this. They could be pretty nasty if they wanted to be, but if their leader was within hearing distance, they were going to hold their tongues.

It didn't take him too long to find out where his leader was. Back far away from the others, in a corner on his own. It would seem that he had escaped here for some solitude. Or rather, whatever solitude that he could get in a place like this. Releasing a small sigh, Jonathan walked over towards him.

He called out, "Jax..."

The stick figure zoner in question raised his head and looked over at him. Upon seeing him, he merely frowned and looked away. "What exactly do you want? Have you come to gloat about how you were right?"

Jonathan froze at this. He didn't know what Jax was talking about. Unless... Was he referring to the fact that he had tried to convince him to get Rapsheeba when she was still in her home? He did not realize that he had been affected by that. He gritted his teeth and replied, "Sir, _none_ of us could have realized how that would have went. There is no need to kick yourself."

Jax curled his lip upward. "We had our chance. We should have went with your idea." He turned his head. His voice became a low growl, almost dissipating on the tip of his tongue. "I let everyone down."

Jonathan looked at him sympathetically. He could feel his heart stinging in his chest. He put his hand over it, struggling to help himself feel better. A part of him just wanted to give his leader a hug. A part of him wanted to guide him through this. But what could he say? Failure was not something that Jax ever took lightly, even when referring to himself.

He hoped that Jax was not going to remain like this forever, though. Despite knowing full well the pain of what he was going through, despite knowing that his feelings were not unfounded, he still felt that Jax owed it to his followers to remain as calm as possible. They were not going to get very far if he kept doubting himself. He was not going to succeed in regaining any percieved 'lost honor' if he continued to mope like this. He needed to snap out of it. And if he didn't do it on his own, then he would force him to do so.

"Sir, I know that you are not in a good place right now. I know that you are feeling quite bad about what happened. But please..." Jonathan took a few steps towards him. "Don't act like this. You are our leader. We rely on you to help us move forward. We would not be able to get this far without you. Please... be the leader that we all need."

Jax looked up at him, his eyebrow cocked a little. He stayed like this for several long moments, breathing in and out slowly. For a while, neither of them could move. He had no idea how long this lasted. It seemed to take ages before there was any sort of response. And even then, it was light, airy, and kind of whispy.

"How can I lead when I chose to flee...?"

Jonathan blinked his eyes a few times. He stared at the zoner before him, unsure of where he was getting at. "What..?"

Jax anrrowed his eyes at him. "Don't pretend that you didn't notice. Don't pretend that you don't know." Jax turned his head slowly to one side. His teeth were bared, grinding up against each other audibly. It created this horrible sound that send chills down Jonathan's spine. "I ran away instead of facing up against those brats. We could have taken them on, but instead I chose to run." He lowered his head. "How fucking weak could I get...?"

Jonathan's heart skipped a beat at this. "Oh Jax... You are not weak. You did what you felt needed to be done." When Jax didn't answer, he moved in a little closer, his tongue slowly licking across his lips. "Please, don't be so hard on yourself. You wouldn't have known how things would have gone and..." His voice trailed off. He couldn't think of what else to say.

Jax stared at him for several long moments. Despite those encouraging words that Jonathan attempted to bestow upon him, he still didn't seem like he had been cheered up much at all. He just closed his eyes and turned his back to him. The sight of this made Jonathan's chest sting tightly and he attempted to rush forward to grab onto him. But he quickly stopped himself, breathing in and out slowly.

He wished that there was some sort of way that he could shift all of this around. He wished that there was a way that he could help his leader feel better, to help him realize that he truly hadn't made a mistake. There were no mistakes with his leadership, far as he knew. He himself might not know the reasoning behind retreating, but he didn't need to know that to know that his leader did what he could. He just wished that he would see that.

He was about to open his mouth to speak when he heard the sound of something approaching. The sound of footsteps and slight clanging. He pulled his head back and he looked up at the ceiling. Their hideout only had one floor and all that was above them was grass and rocks. No one should know about this place. This could be just a coincidence. But that didn't stop him from tensing up, gritting his teeth tightly.

"What's going on?" One of his comrades asked. "What's that sound?"

"I think it came from up there..." Another responded, their head tilting upwards as though to try to see it for himself. But of course, there was nothing.

Jonathan and Jax also looked around for themselves. But no matter which way that they looked, they couldn't really see anything handy. They couldn't see anything that indicated what they were looking for. No sign of a person here. And yet that sound continued on and...

 _Just what the fuck was happening here...?_

Jonathan gritted his teeth. He swung his head in the direction of the nearest stick figure zoner. "Hey you!" When the zoner turned her head to face him, he said to her, "Go up and see what is going on. And make sure that you are not spotted!"

The female stick figure zoner nodded her head. She turned herself around and started to proceed up. But then she was suddenly stopped in her tracks and everyone froze at the sound of some kind of loud bang. Something clanged against the ground, echoing throughout the air. Then silence.

Almost everyone huddled at this. They looked around frantically, wondering just what the heck was going on here. None of them dared to speak, as though fearful a single sound was all that it would take for them to become noticed, caught by whatever was ahppening. The few that didn't do this were standing guard nearby. They had adopted defensive stances and were constantly looking around for any sign of trouble. It was clear that whoever had shown up were going to have to go through them first.

Jonathan remained silent as he instinctively moved in front of Jax, keeping him safe. His arms spread outwards, his eyes darting about as he tried to see just who was approaching them. He could hear footsteps getting closer and closer, and this made him more and more tense. Nonetheless, he refused to move.

That's when he finally saw it. There was something moving along the ground, getting ever closer. He tried to move back, but he found himself unable to lift his leg up. The shadow crawled upon him, enveloping him in it. He flinched as though he had been struck. The shadow spread, coating both him and Jax in it. Then it just became rigid and all fell silent for a while.

Then he could hear some sort of laughter. Not a maniacal one. Not one that you would hear in a show. That stereotypical laugh. Oh no, this one was...worse than that. He didn't want to believe it, but it was true. It was worse. More terrifying, and it made him nearly tremble. He had to fight the urge and even then...

There was a figure standing there now. He could not see much of them. They were too cloaked in shadows themselves to really reveal much about them. They kind of looked human, although it was hard to tell exactly with this oscurity.

Regardless of who they were, he was not about to let them get anywhere near his leader. The rest of his comrades...although he did care about them, they were expendable compared to their leader. He chose to keep beside Jax, his arms spread out so that this shadow of a person wouldn't be able to get close.

And then, after standing there for several moments with a stare cutting through the darkness, the figure spoke. "I'm disappointed... Do you all not remember me...?"

Jonathan blinked. _Was it possible...?_

" _Pascal..?_ "

sss

Skrawl paced back and forth. He had told the Beanie Boys that he didn't want to be disturbed right now. He just needed some time to think to himself. He needed to figure out how he was going to go through with whatever step he... Oh gawd, now he was just confusing himself. He gripped his head with one of his hands and pressed his claw tips against it.

 _How_ was he going to go through with this? _What_ was he going to do? He hadn't really thought much on what he wanted to do next. Or rather he did have some clues, but he didn't know how he was going to execute them. He struggled as hard as he could, trying to figure out what to do next. But he only ended up thinking himself into circles, which caused his mind to ache and nearly crack. He shook his head, attempting to clear his mind, but not much luck.

He let out a sigh as he leaned himself against the wall. He stared at the ground. He could see something there. His own reflection. He could see his mismatched eyes staring right back at him. They wouldn't leave him alone. They seemed to taunt him over and over again. He clinched his teeth tightly and growled. How could even he taunted himself like this? Had he really become such a joke?

Skrawl could not shake off the memories of that fucking artist boy having to save him from Brain. He shut his eyes tightly. Even this did not save him from the repeat of this quite tragic history over and over again. At least, it was tragic to him. It served as a reminder to him that he was, in essence, powerless. At least, not having anything special about him outside of his remarkable intelligence.

But why was he worried? He could use his intelligence to his advantage. And he had already done that more than once. But he did have to admit... He did seem to be slipping up. He thought back to his plans and how they seemed to shift. He had done the best when he tried to straight up kill Rudy and his creations. The others, he made a misjudgement which cost him his beautiful plans.

The worst was the Brain one. He should not have created Brain with independence. He should have gone for something easier and had her be something that would be obedient. So he did have to admit to himself, he did cause his own downfall there.

But that did not mean that he was going to let Rudy off the hook. This was more than just pride although that was part of it. No, there was something more to it than that. It was about getting back his own independence. He couldn't even show his face in public; other zoners remembered what happened and they would remind him of it. They would remind him of how he was saved by a fucking child despite him being the 'smart one'. He sought to squash out this belief as much as he could.

He could hear the sound of someone knocking on the door. He swiveled his head over and he glared at it. He tried his best not to growl. He was already exhausted enough as it was. He just couldn't believe that one of the Beanie Boys thought it was a good idea to interrupt him right now. He was rather busy and he had told them to leave him alone.

Well he might as well see what this was about.

"Come on in." His voice had a growly edge to it. This seemed to result in the Beanie Boy in question hesitating. But soon the door opened up slowly, revealing what appeared to be one of the newcomers. Though they all looked the same so sometimes he did get them mixed up. "Oh it's you. I see your training has been going well, am I right?"

The Beanie Boy nodded his head meekly. "Y-Yes, sir. I..." He rubbed his hands together nervously. "I'm sorry for interrupting you. But I was just wondering..." He poked his pointer fingers against one another a few times before holding his hand up in gesture. "Would you be interested in some tea? You looked pretty stressed."

Skrawl stared at him for a few seconds. Then he formed a small fist, his eyes narrowing. "You interrupted me, knowing that I wanted to be left alone, just for some tea...?" His voice was a growl, and it grew deeper as the seconds passed.

The Beanie Boy cringed away from him, his body huddling up. He stammered, fumbling with his fingers. "W-Well I..." He kept tripping over his own tongue and he nearly bit it more than once. He soon swallowed and he forced himself to speak. "I didn't mean to..." He couldn't bring himself to speak anything else coherently.

Skrawl just glared at him until he finally just...gave up. He exhaled loudly, the emotions draining out of his fingers. It was no use getting angry at him. As much as he wanted to vent his frustrations to somebody, this was not the right away to do it. He was only going to make things worse for himself if he did so. He forced himself to smile and relax his muscles to some degree.

"No thank you. But thanks for the offer." Skrawl gave him a smile. It was a bit forced, but at least it was some kind of smile anyway. He watched the zoner before him tremble, but he couldn't be bothered to feel too guilty about it. He just lifted up his hand and motioned it forward. "Now go and return to your duties. You still have more training to go through."

The Beanie Boy nodded his head. "Y-Yes, sir.." With that, the Beanie Boy zipped away, disappearing down the hall. Skrawl watched as he left, and after he disappeared, he continued pacing.

Skrawl was still trying to figure out just what he could do about this. The Beanie Boy's interruption was at such an inpertinent moment. Of _all_ the times for _him_ to show up... And now because of him, he had lost his train of thought. He growled softly, gritting his teeth. He would have to figure out something about this soon. But what was he going to do? _Ugh_...if only he had a lot more number of useful Beanie Boys, he...

Feh, yeah right. Like that was ever going to happen. Honestly, he was far better just trying to get other zoners at his side. He was better off trying to appeal to them somehow and then getting them to work for him. But that was not going to happen. Those idiotic zoners loved Rudy. They did not see him the same way as he did. They had no reason to want to harm him. At least, most of them.

But he had to admit...the idea did sound like it held some merit. He mainly had only the Beanie Boys, and while they were competent in their own right, well some of them anyway, he realized that he would be far more affective if he had more people at his side. More zoners who would listen to him and treat him as leader. And by getting more zoners with him, he would decrease the amount of supporters that Rudy has, and it would get to the point where he could just take control from him just like that. A snap of the finger.

But how was he going to succeed in doing that? How would he get them to turn against Rudy, the Great Creator? The jellybean furrowed his eyes, tapping his claw tips together. Maybe he was jumping in this a little too fast. Yeah, time to pull back a little and try to look at the obvious.

What about zoners who may not be happy already? Disgruntled zoners were much easier to sway. He just needed to figure out what was bothering them and poke all the right buttons. Anger was useful in more ways than one, as well as fear. If he played to the anger and fear of the zoners, perhaps he would find a trigger that would set them off, and cause them to be more willing to work with them if it meant getting back at whatever bothered them.

He stopped for a moment, growling and rubbing his head. All of this thinking was giving him a headache. Perhaps he should drink this stuff and calm down a little before he continued. If he was going to try to build up a new plan of his, he should be in the best frame of mind. Otherwise, well, he was not going to be able to make it all that far. Staring at the cup, he put it against his lips and started to drink it.

...only to spit it out immediately. What the fuck was this shit? He stared at the cup closely, one of his eyes moving around, looking at its contents. Did that Beanie Boy honestly think that this was edible enough to drink? Why, he would not pour this down the sink, let alone drink it. That could he have been thinking? _Ugh_...it almost reminded him of the time he had to work with Craniac and...

He immediately froze at that name. _Craniac_... Why didn't he think of that before? Why didn't he figure that he could try talking with that guy? He had worked with him before. Surely he would do it again, right?

Skrawl smirked at the thought of it. Craniac lived in a place where 'good' ideas were abandoned, right? He must have some disgruntled zoners living there, right? He just needed to speak with that robot and get him to tell him what he wanted. Perhaps he could even form another partnership with him. And this time, he would make sure that he remained in control so there were no foul ups.

He just needed to take a trip down to the Future Dome.


	5. A Partnership

_Argh_... Why did it take _so long_ to get to the Future Dome? He didn't recall it taking it quite this long to get here. Well no matter, at least he could finally see it in the distance. It was still going to take a little while to get there. No matter how hard he shouted, the Beanie Boys carrying him were not going to be able to move any faster.

As they headed over, he pondered just what he was going to say. How should he propose this idea to Craniac? If he wanted him to help out, he realized that he was probably going to need to bring up something that would appeal to the robot. Something that he could give, or at least promise to, in return. Exactly what that could be, he wasn't sure. But he would figure out something. He always did.

But what if he _didn't?_ What if he ended up making a huge mistake? _What if..._

Geeze, he needed to learn how to settle down. Skrawl rubbed the side of his head, his teeth gritting tightly. How was Craniac going to react seeing him like this? If he saw him as incompetent...

Skrawl made a mental not to try to push aside his own anger towards what Rudy did. He should not allow those feelings to come forth. He should not let them control him too much. Not right now. Not while he had a meeting to attend to. Rudy would eventually get what he deserved. He would be sorry for ever crossing his path, for making him into a fool.

Oh yes, in due time, he would certainly pay indeed...

Skrawl managed to regain his composure as they got closer to the dome. In a matter of seconds, they were now flying over it. Skrawl took a moment to look down. He grimaced at the sight of all the erased bad ideas, the poorly designed characters, inventions that did not work properly, among all of those things. He wondered how Craniac could live here, why he would want to be associated with this kind of place.

But then he smiled. As he had thought before, he realized that he could take full advantage of this situation. He could mold it into his hands and turn it into something worthwhile. It wouldn't take that much, he was certain. He was sure that some of these zoners would want something better than what they had been given. He was certain that they would jump at the chance for something greater than they could have imagined.

He took notice of how some of the zoners noticed him. They paused what they were doing to stare up. Skrawl basked in this, enjoying having some attention. That was how it should always be. This is what he deserved. He had earned this. He had strived for this. He had...

Wait, why were they starting to glare at him? And why were they shouting at him? Why did he hear curse words? Why did they see them with bared teeth? Why did they look ready to rip him apart?

Skrawl narrowed his eyes at this. Such fools they were to react like that. Had they been more accepting, he would have considered giving them an offer they would have trouble refusing. But if they wanted to be this way, then fine. They were off his list. At least he might have some luck with Craniac. And perhaps Craniac knew of some zoners who would be far more cooperative.

The Beanie Boys continued to carry him over. Soon the shouts of the zoners below him faded away completely, and he was fast approaching the large thermometer of an elevator. Skrawl flinched at the sight of it. This was not his favorite thing to go through. He could still feel the heat from last time. But considering what he had come here for, well, it just might be worth it. The only way to find out was to just come over and walk with this guy.

And who knows? Maybe Craniac had an idea of his own...

Skrawl got off of his chair as the Beanie Boys hovered it down. After he got off he turned to them and he motioned them to come with him. While he couldhave easily done this on his own, he thought that it would be easier to go with them as he felt like Craniac would be more willing to negotiate if he wasn't alone. Call it a power trip, but so long as it was affective, he didn't care. His Beanie Boys really did come in handy at times.

Skrawl pressed the button in the elevator. He could feel it immediately descend via hot liquid beneath his feet. Skrawl struggled to keep his composure, but he realized swiftly that this wasn't going to work. He could feel the heat rising up rapidly and his eyes widened. He gritted his teeth and tried not to scream as the heat transferred rapidly through the floor and along the could feel sweat dripping from every poor and his hair and antenna were soaked. The sweltering heat closed in around him and he thought he was going to pass out.

When he reached the top of the elevator, as soon as the doors opened up, the light breeze was like a tornado of cold air. It was so sudden that he barely had time to react to it and he felt his legs wobble. Skrawl had to grab onto the frame of the elevator just to keep himself from falling down. He stumbled out of the elevator seconds later and he just collapsed.

"Oh geeze, who could it be this time?" He could hear Craniac say, his wheel easily heard as he made his way over. "Whoever it is, go away. I'm busy right now and... What the... _You?!_ "

Skrawl looked up, still panting and drippy from the intense heat 'bath' he had been given earlier. He stared up at where Craniac was currently standing. He could not read too much expression in the robot's face. He did not exactly have a wide variety of facial expressions. But he was still able to detect some anger on him, as well as shock. To this, Skrawl could only just smirk.

"Did you miss me?" Skrawl asked as he forced himself to climb up to his feet. "It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" He stretched himself a little, feeling a small crack in his back as he did so. "I was hoping to speak with you."

Craniac, however, was not about to let him get what he wanted that easily. He was going to play 'hard to get'. Of course he would. A part of Skrawl predicted this already. Rather than try to stop him, however, Skrawl decided to allow Craniac to speak. He would very much enjoy just what it is that was on the robot's mind. What was he going to say?

"Y-You can't be here right now... Whatever it is that you want... I refuse!" Craniac motioned his hands outward. "Go bother someone else!"

"You're busy, are you?" Skrawl asked. His head tilted slightly to one side. "And what exactly are you busy with? What exactly do you have planned?" Skrawl was on his feet now. He was slightly unsteady, but for the most part, he was able to keep his balance quite well. He gave a small sneer over at Craniac, a knowing smile spreading alone his face. "You hardly do anything except use that machine of yours to drag in more useless things in here."

Craniac stammered, "Th-They're _not_ useless! They..."

"Then why are they erased here? Isn't the Future Dome home of the worthless? Home of mistakes?" Skrawl moved in closer to Craniac. He reached with one hand and pressed a claw tip against Craniac's...shoulder he guessed it would be. "What could you possibly be working on outside of trying to pretend that you're not a failure?"

Craniac growled at this. "I was not designed to be a failure and I think it's time that you..."

"Oh no? Then how come you are a laughing stock outside of Future Dome? Even within Future Dome itself?" Skrawl raised his hand up in gesture. He had no idea if this plan would work; it was quite on the whim. But perhaps if he kept targeting this one spot, he might be able to convince Craniac. "Look at you... A hunk of heap in this trash, when you could have been something so much more. Don't you want a chance at that? Don't you want to get what is rightfully yours?"

The red robot before him appeared to be trembling with emotion. At first, it did look as though he had gotten him wrapped around his finger. He could see the anger that boiled through, shining brightly in those.. did he seriously call those things eyes...?

But in the end, there was no way to know for absolute certain if this would work or not. He would need to keep going and see how this guy response. He needed to keep this up and, if he did it all right, then he would have Craniac's help with this. And then it was just a matter of figuring out what to do about Rudy and his little friends.

When Craniac did not respond after a while of silence, Skrawl decided to continue with his little speech. He moved in a bit closer to the zoner before him, his smile stretching upwards, chuckling. "Don't think I haven't heard what they said on the way up here. Don't think that I haven't heard those comments about how...incompetent that you are." Skrawl watched as Craniac growled but did not respond. This prompted Skrawl to continue, "But I know that you are more than that. I know that you are more than just a little joke."

It was at this point that Craniac seemed to finally be able to respond. "And what are you suggesting? Where is this leading up to?"

Skrawl folded his arms against himself. "Don't you want to prove to them they're wrong...?"

It was pretty fun watching the way that Craniac seemed to twist and writhe at this. It was like the most amusing show and he was at the head of it all. Skrawl couldn't help but curl his lips upward in a sneer, his teeth gritted against one another. He had the robot wrapped around his long, pointed finger, and if he continued to press all the right buttons, it wouldn't be too long before he was able to get him to do exactly what he wanted.

Craniac had his hands, or whatever they were called, gripped at the sides of his head. He looked like he was struggling with himself, struggling to figure out what to say, struggling to figure out the appropriate response. This seemed to last quite a while before the robot shook his head and turned his attention back to him.

"I know what you are trying to do." Craniac's voice was a bit lowered, with an edge to it that Skrawl didn't think was possible. "And it's not going to work." He motioned his hand towards him, pointing right at the large jellybean zoner. "I have no more interest in working with someone like you. Especially with the way that you ruined our last plan..."

Skrawl's eyes immediately widened at this, his mouth dropping open. Was this guy for real? Was he being serious? How the fuck could he... Skrawl narrowed his eyes into slights, grinding his teeth against one another. A low growl eminated through his throat, his previous composure having been disrupted. He took a few steps towards the zoner, his hands formed into tight fists.

" _How fucking dare you_... I wasn't the one who ruined anything!" Skrawl pointed at Craniac. "You are the one who messed things up with you did shit like waste time with the genius girl and when you had Snap be alerted to our plan because you didn't know when to keep your mouth shut!"

"Oh yeah?" Craniac raised himself up, his body stretching upwards. He leaned himself in towards Skrawl, his flat, glassy face nearly pressing up against his. "And what about you? If you hadn't let your pride get in the way and if you had just listened to me, then we wouldn't have gotten distracted and we would have realized what was going on and...!"

Skrawl slapped Craniac as hard as he could with the back of his hand. This sudden motion was enough to nearly make the robot zoner fall to the ground. Craniac looked up at him in shock while Skrawl kept his hand raised in the air, slow, heavy breaths coming in and out of his green body.

"Don't you dare try to put me at fault!" Skrawl's mind burned, spinning around in circles. He could feel an ache pounding there, twisting him up inside. He thought he could feel his skin setting on fire, and he swore that his vision was blurring. "Don't you try to act like I'm the one to blame! I did nothing wrong! My plans are always well thought out! They're perfect!" Skrawl put his hand on his hip, straightening himself up to look taller than the robot below him. "You are the one who needs to learn his place! _You're_ the cause of that plan's downfall! You are the one who doesn't know how to work in a team!"

Craniac moved himself away, his body sort of cringing. But that glare was still plastered over his face and he was still giving him a dirty look. Such a thing was not going to go unpunished. Skrawl was already rearing up for another attack. His raised his hand up, but he paused when Craniac began to speak, "What makes you think I was the problem? You think you're so perfect; you don't even consider your own flaws."

"M-My own f-f-f..." Flabergausted, Skrawl reached out and grabbed onto the red robot before him. He yanked him forward, causing Craniac to let out a yelp. "What the hell do you mean by that?! What about you?! You're always going on and on about how you're the best Craniac, when really, Master Tabootie could just draw another one of you and then it will be you who'll be locked up!"

Craniac, much to Skrawl's surprise, nodded his head. "Yes, I know that." Skrawl's expression softened up only slightly, though he still kepta tight grip on the robot. "That is the way that technology works. New things come along and replace the old. It's an uphill battle."

Skrawl blinked at this and then chuckled, "Wow, no wonder you're so pathetic..." He raised his hand up in gesture. "You won't even fight for what is rightfully yours..."

Craniac scoffed at this. It sounded as though he was about to make another remark about it, but so swiftly the robot turned the subject right back on him. With his metallic hand pressed up against Skrawl's chest, jabbing it like it were a tough potato he was trying to cut, Craniac hissed, "At least I get a more honorable way than you!"

Skrawl grabbed onto his hand and pushed it back down. "What the fuck do you mean?"

"What I mean is... Look at yourself!" Craniac motioned his hands up and down before Skrawl, indicating his entire being. "Look at the way that you were designed! You think that, if Rudy decided to redesign you, make another you, that he would keep that look?"

Skrawl did not say anything. He just growled.

Craniac continued, "I'm being serious! At least with technology, you can excuse that as being just 'a step up'. But what about zoners like you? How do you feel about being replaced?" Craniac folded his arms to his 'chest'. "If anything, you are the one who would benefit more from this 'revenge' than I do. I've given up, but you seem to want to continue. If you want to keep on this delusional route of yours, fine! I won't stop you, Skrawl."

Skrawl could not control the trembling emotion rippling through his body. He could barely think. He could barely move. He could only just stare at this wretched zoner, his heart thudding loudly inside of his head. He gritted his teeth tightly and seethed panting in and out heavily. Thoughts raced through his mind and he could feel his fingers curling into tight fists.

 _Why this stupid, inconsiderate little_... Did he have _any_ idea what he was saying? Did he have any clue, any inkling, of what he was talking about? Did he not realize that... Skrawl let out a low hiss. Finally able to move he took a step towards the zoner before him, glaring down at him with his narrowed eyes. Despite moving back, Craniac did not look particularly frightened. Well, Skrawl would just have to fix that.

Without hesitating, Skrawl struck out against Craniac. The zoner yelped as his claws raked against his glass helmet. The claw tips slashed along the glass itself, screeching loudly, creating marks on the glass, clear helmet. The force of the impact had been enough to make the zoner topple to one side. The robot struggled to keep himself under control, but he had quickly managed to right himself up.

Skrawl, however, was not finished with him. He charged at the robot, ramming his larger body against his. He listened as the robot let out a cry of pain and he listened as his metallic body crashed and rolled painfully along the ground. Skrawl soon stood up tall and glared over at him, panting slow and heavy. Craniac got up to his feet, er rather, wheel, and looked over at him. He could not tell if Craniac looked fearful or not with those weird eyes of his. But he guessed that he had gotten more apprehensive.

The jellybean zoner rushed at him a second time, raising up a fist to strike him with, letting out a yell in the process. Craniac jolted at this and he began to move backwards, not even trying to look at where he was going. Skrawl gained up on him swiftly and he watched the robot zoner raise up his hands in self defense while he brought down his own. He could feel his fist landing against Craniac's side and this time, he could hear a loud crack.

Skrawl flinched and pulled his hand back, not expecting it to hurt that much. He shook his hand a little bit and then he looked down at where Craniac was. He glared at him as the robot laid there on the ground, a dent and crack located on his side now. Slowly, Craniac got back up, limping a little from whatever he was feeling. Did Craniac actually feel pain like he's led him to believe? Or was it just his imagination? Well, no matter. At least it looked like he was responding appropriately.

Skrawl let Craniac pant only for a few seconds before he grabbed onto him and lifted him up by his arm. He glared right into his robotic eyes, his yellow-stained misshapen teeth bared. He remained like this for several seconds, ignoring Craniac's attempts to get himself free.

"I will give you a good piece of advice, you useless robot..." Skrawl brought Craniac towards himself, putting his face close to his. "Don't you ever try to make it look like I'm the fool... Don't you dare try to tell me that I'm delusional..." He took a moment to shake Craniac a little as he said this. "Hear me, you worthless piece of waste..? I will make sure that you regret every single word if you pull that stunt again."

Craniac raised his other hand up quickly, nodding his...head or whatever, up and down. "Y-Yes, I get it! Please, let me down!"

Skrawl raised him up higher. He stared at him longer, letting the seconds pass slowly, each tick seeming to echo. Then, eventually, he released him. He listened to the robot zoner crash into the ground. Skrawl glared at him as he jumped up to his wheel and backed off.

"See to it that you remember that.." Skrawl hissed. After a few moments of silence, realizing that there wasn't much else that could be done right now, he turned around and he began to head back towards the elevator.

Well this had been a disappointing meeting. He would have thought that he could convince Craniac to agree to this plan. Perhaps he hadn't played the right cards. Or maybe he had been too forceful. Perhaps his temper did not really help all that much. He...

Wait he had no temper. This wasn't his fault. It was Craniac's. He was the one who chose to back down, despite his generous offer. He was the one who acted as though he knew everything. He was the one who wouldn't take responsibility of his own actions ruining what they nearly succeeded with before. If Craniac wanted to continue to act like he did nothing wrong, then so be it. If something happened later, it would be his own fault.

Skrawl had just reached the beginning of the elevator when he could hear a shout calling out towards him. No, not towards him; to someone else.

"G-G-Guards!"

Skrawl's mismatched eyes widened at this. It was Craniac.

"G-Get him...!"

Skrawl turned himself around and glared over at Craniac. What in the world did he think that he was doing? What the fuck was he trying to do...? Skrawl could see that the red robot zoner was pointing at him. He had told the guards to get him. As that fully clicked into his mind, Skrawl straightened himself up and looked around.

He could see a couple of doors that he did not see before opening up, sliding open in a loud whoosh sound. The guards came out almost right away. There were two of them. Large and burly, holding spears for weapons. Skrawl's eyes widened at this and he turned and attempted to get away. But before he could even get that far he could already feel something whamming against him painfully. He was forced into the ground, air escaping out of his lungs.

Skrawl wriggled about on the ground. He was stopped when he could feel the sharp spears pressing against his throat, two of them, slanted across of each other. They were positioned in such a way that if he tried to struggle in either direction, he would end up getting hurt. Despite this fear, he still kicked out with one of his limbs, hoping to catch the guard, well, off guard.

"Hold it..." Craniac called out just as one of the guards was pressing their spear further against his flesh. "D-Do not kill him..." The two guards snorted at this, but they did cave in and relaxed a little. Skrawl looked up, glaring at the approaching Craniac, growling deeply. "I do feel that there's still hope for him."

"Hope..? What are you talking about?" Skrawl hissed at him. He tried to reach out at the robot with one of his hands. He tried to swipe at him, slash him as hard as he could. But he could not reach. One of the guards struck down against this limb, making Skrawl bite his tongue and seethe to avoid screaming. "I don't understand why you're..." Skrawl gave another squirm before he added, "I was leaving! Why did you call your fucking guards on me?!"

Craniac just stared at him for a few seconds before releasing a soft sigh. "Because, you imputent lump of coal..." Skrawl growled loudly at this, but Craniac continued on as though he had heard nothing. "You had attacked me within my own home. In case you had forgotten, I run the place around here, and one of the rules is you do not attack the leader. You violated that law."

"What?! There's no..." Skrawl struggled against the guards' grasp, but he was unable to free himself. "Let me go now, you fucking talking trash can! You can't...! I'm not from here! You can't force me to..."

Craniac narrowed his eyes. "Just watch me. Guards..." He motioned his hand up, causing Skrawl to be dragged up to his feet. Then he motioned outward, his hand moving in an almost lazy pattern. "Lock him away. Perhaps a few days in lock up will cool him down."

"No! No! I won't let you do that!" Skrawl scrambled to get away, his body twisting about wildly. But his efforts were in vain. The two guards tightened their grip on him, causing him to flinch and stiffen in pain.

Craniac watched Skrawl as the guards started to drag him off. No longer did he look afraid. If anything, he looked as though he felt he had accomplished something. There was a smug look on his face, his limbs folding against each other. He said one more thing before Skrawl was dragged down the nearby corridor. "This is for your own good, Skrawl. You have been acting off kilter lately. You will thank me for this."

Skrawl shut his eyes tightly, his teeth grinding against each other. He could feel a rush of emotions go through him, his heart pounding inside of his chest. He then pulled his head back and released a loud shout. " _Craniac...!_ "

That was all that he could manage to say before he disappeared down the corridor, the guards dragging him in tow.

sss

Skrawl formed a tight fist with his hand and he struck against the nearby wall. He ignored the pain that was sent through his wrist as he did so. He struck against the wall again and again, venting out his frustrations. If he could not release his anger towards that stupid robot, then this wall would have to suffice.

Eventually, however, he did get tired of doing this. He was becoming exhausted and he didn't know if his wrist would be able to handle anything further. He pulled his hand towards himself and looked down. He could see that he had already begun to form a bruise there. He flinched at the sight of this, but nonetheless lowered his hand down and did not make a big deal of it. He had something more important to worry about first.

How in the world was he going to get out of here? Sure, Craniac said he was going to let him out after a few days. Sure he said that this was just to help him calm down, that it was 'for his own good'... But fuck, Craniac was not his babysitter. He did not need any help from him. There was nothing wrong with him. If Craniac honestly thought that...

Skrawl released a tense sigh out of his partially open mouth. He drew in long breath after long breath as he tried to calm himself down. He couldn't let his thoughts and emotions get the better of him. He needed to be calm so that he could try to figure a way out of here. There had to be some way to get free. Some way that he could...

He paused himself as he stared over ahead. He could see one of the guards standing there, leaning against the wall opposite of him. Skrawl watched as the guard breathed in and out slowly, his cow-like robot tail twitching about. Skrawl could see that he had a key looped around his wrist, the one that happened to be one top of the other.

Skrawl narrowed his eyes into slits. He bet that if he managed to grab onto that and pull it free, he just might be able to get himself out of here and leave. Screw Craniac's so-called 'therapy'. He was having none of it. He had far more important things to worry about than...something like this. One of the most obvious being figuring out a way to stop Rudy once and for all. His mission against Rudy was more imprtant than something like...

He flinched when he heard the sound of scraping and he lifted up his head. He growled as he looked around, trying to figure out where that sound was coming from. It went on for several long moments and he growled deeply. It did seem to go away on its own, but he could hear it scraping loudly still in his mind and it would not go away. Oh gawd, it was like someone took a metal claw and was scraping it along some unfortunate chalkboard. Chills rushed up and down his spine.

It did eventually stop and he was eventually able to push it aside. But he didn't know for how long. He gritted his teeth tightly as he continued to look at the guard before him. He tried to refocus his attention on getting that key. He narrowed his eyes and tried to ponder how he was going to do that. What would make it possible for him to grab onto that?

Maybe use one of these long poles? There was one nearby. He just might be able to reach it. He just needed to press himself against the wall, reach over, and grab it. If he could just stretch far enough he just might be able to grab that pole. Doing just as he discussed in his mind, he put himself up against the wall and he began to reach out, going as far as he could. He ignored any pains and strains that he was experiencing, his mind fully focused on grabbing onto that fucking pole.

 _Come on..._

He can do this...

Just a little more...

 _Please..._

Yes, he got it. He gripped onto the pole tightly and pulled it towards him. Now that he had it in his hands, he just needed to get it...

Suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps coming his way. His body became rigid for a few seconds before he looked around for wherever that sound was coming from. He gritted his teeth tightly, growling deeply. He shifted his eyes from one side to the other, trying to figure out what was going on. Who was making that sound? Who was coming down here?

He looked up and he could see that the guard had already moved. Drat, now he was not going to be able to get at that key. But his dismay at this was replaced with curiosity as he watched the guard bow a little. Skrawl frowned at this. He whispered voiceless words of confusion as he slowly turned his head in the direction the guard was bowing in.

He took immediate notice of the cloaked figure walking in slowly. The figure was alone, and almost every part of them was covered with the cloak. They appeared to be a humanoid zoner judging from the look of things. Skrawl watched them carefully, raising an eyebrow, pondering wha they wanted with him. Was this one of Craniac's subjects? Heh, he bet that he was going to try to help him 'relax'. _What a joke..._

The figure suddenly lifted their head up, knocking back the hood a little. It was enough that Skrawl could notice their facial features. Skrawl was astounded by it. He had to admit, the artist who drew this zoner had some talent. So many details... It was almost like the artist used a photo to trace over. His impressiveness faded quickly when he realized that's probably what happened. Just some wanna be artist trying to feel all special.

The figure's eyes seemed to bore right through his. They remained silent for a few moments before finally speaking, breaking the silence. "Hello there, Skrawl..." The figure said, their voice a bit younger yet deeper sounding than he thought. An odd mix. "Are you enjoying your stay here?"

Skrawl hissed, curling up his lip. "Go jump off a cliff..."

"Oh...so hasty, aren't you?" The hooded figure chuckled. "Well there's no need to be so upset. I know how Craniac can be, from what I was told. But nevermind all of that, all right?"

Skrawl raised an eyebrow. This figure seemed a little too...bubbly. And he had no idea why. What was this guy's deal? "Just why are you here for?"

"Why, to talk, of course!" Said the figure. They folded their arms to their chest. "I've heard you've made quite the first impression in the past. Impressive.. Not many zoners accomplish that."

Skrawl did feel some tinge of pride at that. Normally he would have boasted, but he was more interested and focused on what this hooded figure wanted. He took a step closer towards the bars, his face nearly pressing up against the bars themselves. "Just who are you and what do you want with me?"

The figure smiled at him. "Pardon me, I am Pascal." They motioned their hand to himself before motioning back at Skrawl. "And I am here to offer you an.. _interesting_ proposition."

Skrawl tilted his head to the side. He had no idea what to make of this. One minute, he was sentenced to be locked up by Craniac. The next, this guy shows up and the guard doesn't react negatively. He wondered if this was set up by Craniac or if this was seperate or... Skrawl's head pounded at these thoughts. He tried to force himself to relax, but that seemed to make the headache worse.

Rubbing his hand against the side of his head in hopes of at least partially soothing the aches and pains, he said, "What proposition, exactly?"

The hooded figure's face suddenly contorted into something quite twisted. It was so out of nowhere that Skrawl nearly jolted back from seeing how much their face scrunched up into a dark smile. "You want revenge against Rudy, do you not...?"

Skrawl's eyes flickered at this. Slowly, a smile spread along his face, his teeth becoming bared in a grin. His interest just got piqued. "I'm listening..."


	6. The Aftermath

"Rudy, you need to calm down." Penny said firmly. She flinched a little. That hadn't been the exact wording she would have wanted to say. Still, she was getting a little impatient with Rudy. He was driving her nuts with his constant pacing around. And she hadn't been the only one.

"Yeah, Bucko. If you keep overthinking this, you might run yourself into the ground." Snap said.

Rudy turnred his head to glare at them. The motion was quite swift, catching the two of them off guard. They hadn't expected him to look at them in such a way. His eyes narrowed, furthering the uncomfortableness of this situation. Well, that was quite a mouthful to think of.

"Don't _you_ care?" Rudy asked, his voice rather low, almost hissing. "One of our friends was attacked and you don't even..."

"Rudy, _how_ could you say _that..?_ " Penny's eyes were filled with shock. "It's not that we don't care.." She paused for a moment, biting her lip. She realized that she and Snap hadn't exactly been wording their statements all that well before. Had they been that carelfess? "We're just saying that we won't figure out what happened with you worrying all the time."

Snap nodded his head in agreement. "I'm just as upset about the attack on Rapsheeba as you. Trust me." Snap motioned his rounded hand towards Rudy. "But I'm with Buckette on this one. We should try to focus on keeping calm before we head into this."

Rudy still glared at them. Penny let out a small sigh. She wished that Rudy would at least try to understand where they were coming from. She released a sigh as she took a step forward. "Please, Rudy.." She brought her hands together, rubbing them against one another. "We aren't going to do anyone any favors jumping into this so fast. We need to think about this. We need a plan." She held her hands out at her sides. She looked at him, feeling her heart twist in desperation. "Please just _listen_ to us..."

Rudy's eyes narrowed further. At first, it looked as though he was going to argue with them. Penny could feel her heart quickening and she struggled to figure out what else she could say to try to pacify him. She understood why he was upset, but still, that was no reason for him to act like this. He needed to...

Much to her relief, she could see him starting to relax. Not much, but at least his shoulders were starting to relax and he looked far less rigid. She could hear him releasing a small sigh and look away as though ashamed. She looked at him sympathtically and thought of approaching him. She thought better of it, though, and just hung back for the time being.

"Yeah, I know..." Rudy finally said. He wasn't looking at any of them in particular. "I am aware that I could ruin things if I..." He shut his eyes tightly, gritting his teeth. "But what if something were to happen while I am here and I don't do anything?" He looked back at the two of them, his eyes wide and filled with emotion. "What if I screw up?"

"Rudy... Why do you think you're..." Penny started to ask.

"Because I am supposed to be the protector of ChalkZone!" Rudy suddenly shouted. "I should be able to solve this! I should be able to protect the zoners from this! I've stopped Skrawl, and threats from the Real World...!" Rudy hissed through clenched teeth as he gripped the sides of his head tightly. " _Why can't I fix this?!_ "

Penny and Snap were unable to speak or do anything as they watched their friend nearly break down before them. He had seemed so confident before. When he had started to react this way all of a sudden, it took them both by surprise. They were all worried about what happened to Rapsheeba, but Rudy was reacting apparently far beyond that. There was something else going on, and now they knew what that something was.

Rudy was heavily burdened with the whole 'Great Protector' title. He must feel responsibility for what happened. So many zoners looked up to him and while Rudy had done a good job of hiding it, he was really feeling quite stressed about this. _The poor guy_... He must be really working himself so hard.

Penny watched as Snap was the first one to make a move. She hung back and watched. She pondered what Snap was going to do. He knew Rudy longer than she did. Perhaps he could snap him out of this.

Snap stood in front of Rudy, his white eyes meeting his green ones. They stayed like this for several seconds. Penny, for a split second, thought that Snap was going to go the cliche route of slapping Rudy. But instead, he did something completely different.

He hugged him.

Out of nowhere, he just clung onto Rudy and held onto him tightly.

Rudy's eyes widened at this and he released a grunt. He seemed like he was trying to move back, but Snap's grip on him only tightened further. He kept holding him like this for several moments, refusing to let go. Rudy took in a few deep breaths and then just...caved in.

As Rudy hugged him back, Snap whispered to him, "It's all right, Bucko. We understand. But you shouldn't have to feel so burdened. We are here for you."

"That's right, Rudy." Penny moved over slowly. She tried to be cautious. This was a delicate thing. She didn't want to ruin it by mistake. "Snap and I are here to help you. There's no reason to feel alone in this. We all feel responsible for what happened."

Slowly, carefully, she reached out and touched Rudy on the shoulder. She smiled at him as he looked at her out of the corner of her eyes. Penny smiled gently.

"We will help you through this. We promise."

Penny didn't know how long they stayed like this. She didn't know how long they held onto Rudy. She didn't know how long he had hugged them back. And she didn't care. Right now, she was focused on trying to help her friend feel better. He was obviously distressed. He needed her help, Snap's help. What kind of friends would they be if they left him hanging?

So she continued to hold onto Rudy's shoulder, gently grasping it. When Rudy moved in to hug her as well as Snap, she accepted. The three were soon locked into a three way hug, with no signs of letting go anytime soon. They squeezed each other, rubbing one another's backs, whispered soft, comforting words to each other. Time around them seemed to cease altogether and all they knew was just each other. And that was all they cared about right then and there.

It seemed to take forever before they finally let go, backing out of the hug. They stared at each other, unable to break away their gaze. Penny and Snap focused on looking at Rudy, giving them the most symapthetic glances that they could come up with. They wanted to bring him into another hug when they saw the way that he was looking at them. But they refrained, holding back and watching to see what he was going to do.

Rudy looked at them for a few moments. His facial expression was a little contorted, showing a preview of the whirlwind of emotions running through his mind. He slowly turned his gaze away, his eyes moving from one side to the other constantly. He repeated this action a few times, before finally releasing a small, defeated sigh. He did not look back at them when he started to speak.

"Well... I suppose... Yeah, you guys are right." Rudy straightened himself up slightly. His eyes slowly closed. "I should not beat myself up over this. At least Rapsheeba is safe. That is something to be celebrated." He looked back at them, giving a small smile, one corner stretched further than the other one. "Thanks for helping me realize that."

"Hey, no problem, Rudy!" Snap said as he gently nudged him. "What are friends for, right?"

Penny smiled as she slowly nodded her head. "Just please, don't scare us like that again, okay?" She stepped in front of Snap, her attention fully focused on Rudy. She gently gripped him by his shoulders, holding them tightly. "No matter what happens, remember that we will be here for you. It will be all right."

"Yeah, that's right!" Snap chimed in.

Rudy looked as though he was starting to get a tear in his eyes. He reached up with his hand and gently wiped them away. "Thanks, you guys. That really means..." His voice trailed off, unable to speak any further. He looked towards the ground again, more concern plastering over his face.

Penny would have loved to try to talk to him a little more about this, but unfortunately, they did not have the time to do so. She looked down at her wrist, where she had attached a small watch around. And what she saw on her watch made her bit her lip. "Rudy, we need to head on home." She turned her head back to him. "I don't think you want to upset your mother, do you? I don't think she'd like it if you didn't return home soon for dinner." She gave a nervous smie. "Same with mine."

Rudy smiled sheepishly, looking somewhat embarrassed himself for forgetting. " _Oh right_... Dinner..." He rubbed the back of his head slowly, his eyes going downcast again. "I had forgotten about..."

"We should get going." Penny cut him off. She hadn't really meant to. But she did not want to upset her mother. Not to mention, she did not want to risk Rudy becoming down trodden by recent events. She would rather that he try to get home soon, get his mind off things, eat, and rest. Then they coudl have a better conversation tomorrow. Turning her head to Snap, she said, "Rudy and I are heading out. Do you think you can to talk to Rapsheeba for us?"

Snap nodded his head in an almost dutiful manner. He placed a flattened hand against his forehead, giving Penny a determined look as he said, "You can count on me, Buckette!"

Penny smiled at this before she turned and looked at Rudy sympathetically. "Come on now..." She whispered softly as she walked over to him. She gently grabbed onto his arm, hooking it in her own, and she began to head down this pathway. "Let's go home."

sss

Snap made his way over to Rapsheeba's place slowly. He didn't want to rush this. He had no idea if she was even in a talkative mood or not. It's not that he would back down easily. It was not good to 'suffer in loneliness', something that he himself has learned over the years. But he also didn't want to make it sound like he was forcing her to talk.

He would just say that he was visiting. That way, he could lead into the actual chatting itself, the talking of what had happened. But he would do it slowly. He would not want to make her feel trapped. Oh gawd, that would be so much worse...

He could see her house from where he stood. It was pretty hard to miss. The large house in that location where half of it was in the Night Zone... He couldn't help but smile at this. He recalled their first adventure in that house and how they had met the so-called 'ghost children. Yeah that had been quite the spooky experience, but they had managed to make it out in one peace. ANd they got to meat a couple of new friends. That girl 'ghost' sure knew how to dance. He smiled at the memory. Those had been good times.

He shook the thought out of his head. Now wasn't the time to reminiscent on that. He tried his best to focus on getting to Rapsheeba's place as quickly as he could. He pumped his legs, his chest lighting on fire practically, his eyes widening large. It didn't take him very long to reach her door. He walked up onto the porch, stared at the door that had once freaked him out, and then he knocked on it carefully.

After a few seconds of him knocking, he could hear the door knob clicking and turning. He took a step back, expecting to see Rapsheeba opening up the door. But instead, he was a little surprised to see it was Zibble and Blotz.

"Hello, Snap!" Zibble said, raising her hand in gesture. "What brings you here?"

Snap took a step forward. "I need to speak to Rapsheeba." He looked left and right slowly, trying to get a glimpse of inside the house. "Is she available?"

Blotz shook his head. "Not at the moment. She's upstairs taking a shower." He thrusted his thumb up towards the ceiling to show his point. Snap looked up and frowned slightly. Well there goes his plans of trying to speak to her quickly. He looked back as Blotz continued to speak, "If you want to wait for her to get out, you're more than welcome to."

Snap raised his hands up. "No..I don't want to be a burden.."

" _Nonsense!_ " Zibble grabbed onto him. Her eyes seemed lit up with excitement. "We can dance like we did last time!"

"Well, I don't know..." Snap started to say.

Zibble looked at him with a slight frown, although the smile was still etched on her youthful face. "Oh come on, it'll be fun!" She glanced over at her creation-mate. "Wouldn't it, Blotz?"

The boy nodded his head. "Sure, right." He motioned towards the nearby piano. "I'm not as good as Rapsheeba, but I could play a tune for you to dance to."

"Yes!" Zibble cried out as she yanked Snap towards the center of the room. The superhero zoner let out a few cries of protest, but other than that, he didn't show much signs of resistance. "Let's dance!"

"Whoa!" Snap felt his body tip forward, one leg in the air while the other foot was planted. He flapped his free arm desperately to prevent himself from dropping into the ground. He eventually stopped, but when he did, he had to clear his throat and resteady himself. "Okay, well... if you insist..."

Slowly, Snap reached over to grab onto Zibble. She giggled and gripped him suddenly, more tightlly than she usually did. Snap hardlly had any time to react before Zibble began to move him to the sound of the music. Indeed, Blotz was not as poetic in this as Rapsheeba, but he was doing quite a good job, and soon Snap found hismelf lost in the music and the steps and moves between him and Zibble.

Snap didn't know how much time had passed by. He was only aware of the slow spinning and jerking that he was enduring with this dancing. Sometimes he would bring in Zibble for a spin, or she would toss him in the air and catch him. They held hands and spun around in circles a few times before releasing each other, and then returning for more.

Blotz appeared to have a great time as well. He was playing it up with the piano, pressing individual keys as well as moving his hand along it in a constant wave. At one point, he even jumped up onto it and started to dance along the keys. Not the best sound in the world, but Snap had to admit that, somehow, it was catchy as fuck.

Eventually Snap and Zibble resorted to just dancing on their own, but right next to each other. They pumped their arms and tapped their feet to the music. Their bodies swayed from one side ot the other, nearly swinging. The music echoed throughout their bodies, harmonizing with their hearts. And for a while, Snap nearly forgot about why he had come over here in the first place. He hummed to himself in a steady rhythm, and it nearly turned into singing.

The only thing that stopped that from happening was when he heard the sound of someone coming down the steps. He nearly jumped up into the air when he heard a sudden shout.

" _Snap?!_ "

Snap was so startled by this that he ended up colliding with Zibble. The two of them released a loud shout as they crashed into the ground with one another. They laid on top of each other, struggling to get up and avoid entangling the other in their own limbs.

Snap rubbed his head as he looked up at Rapsheeba, giving a small smile. "Oh hey there, Queenie!" Snap gave a few small chuckles, a little sheepish that he hadn't seen her coming until now. "How are you doing?"

Rapsheeba linked a few times. She still looked a little wet, her hair dripping slightly. Judging from that and the fact that she looked hastily dressed, Snap guessed that she must have heard something and came rushing down. He felt his gut twisting in guilt when he realized that he must have accidentally scared her. And her next statement certainly didn't help, "I thought it was...them again..."

"Them who?" Blotz asked as he jumped down from the keyboard.

Zibble looked over at Rapsheeba. "You never told us what happened."

Snap bit his lip. Oh, Rapsheeba didn't say anything to them? Why not? They were her roommates. Didn't they deserve to know what happened?

Rapsheeba put on a smile. Snap could tell that it was obviously fake. "I told you guys, it was nothing to worry about! Please, there's no reason to get worked up over little old me! I'm fine!" She motioned her hands forward slowly. "Now.." She then pointed up the stairs. "Why don't you go to bed and let Snap and I chat?"

"But..." Zibble started to say.

" _Now_." Rapsheeba said again. This time, her voice was more firm, forced.

Zibble and Blotz widened their eyes at this. They glanced at one another before looking back at her. They looked as though they were about to try to continue speaking to her. But they stopped themselves when Rapsheeba's smile turned thinner and her eyes narrowed further. The two stiffened up at this. Realizing that Rapsheeba meant what she said, they quickly headed up the steps.

Snap watched as they left. He released a small sigh as he turned his gaze back to Rapsheeba. "You didn't tell them...?" He asked, his voice dripping with disbelief. "Why would you lie to them like that? If they find out..."

"They won't find out." Rapsheeba's voice was firm, filled with confidence. "Don't worry."

Snap narrowed his eyes slowly, his arms folding against his chest. "Why won't you tell them the truth?"

"I... Oh..." Rapsheeba looked away. "I don't want them to worry about me. It's...It's not like it's going to happen again..."

"And what if it does?" Snap inquired. He took a few steps forward when Rapsheeba was still silent. "What if those zoners won't stop? If you tell everyone who wasn't a witness that nothing happened..." He shut his eyes tightly. "How would anyone be able to come to your aid?" He rubbed his head. "Rapsheeba, they deserve to know know the truth."

Rapsheeba stared at him for several long seconds. She then looked away from him. "It's more complicated than that. I can't just tell them... I'm sorry."

Snap shook his head in disappointment. "Oh, Rapsheeba.."

The singer zoner looked at Snap sadly. "I know... I'm such a disappointment." She shut her eyes. "Just like they had said.."

Snap blinked at this. "Who said...?"

"Those zoners who attacked me." Rapsheeba kept her gaze down, her fingers fumbling with one another. "They told me that I was a disappointment..." She looked in another direction. "They never said why. But they were so...hateful in their words and..I..." She shut her eyes tightly, her body starting to shake a little. "I'm so sorry, Snap..."

Snap's expression softened up. "Rapsheeba, I.." He reached out towards her, but then stopped and pulled his hand back. He gritted his teeth tightly. _Those assholes.. How dare they..._

He tried to get the thought out of his head. He couldn't let himself get drawn into those dark thoughts. Right now, he needed to focus on Rapsheeba. Looking at her sadly, Snap moved in closer to her. He leaned himself against her as he looped his arm around her and pulled her dclose. He could feel her snuggling up against him and he could feel a blush forming as a result of this. He then put his arms around her and pulled her close.

He could feel time slowly ticking by. The overhanging clock kept ticking and ticking, echoing in his mind. He closed his eyes lightly and took in a deep breath and released it. He and Rapsheeba stayed like this for...he didn't know how long. And he didn't care. He would keep holding onto her as long as it took.

Rapsheeba had her head pressed up against his shoulder. Her body shook as sobs wracked through her. All the emotion and fear that she had bottled up before was now being released. While Snap would never want to see Rapsheeba like this all the time, he was glad that she was not holding it in any longer. He couldn't bear to see her continuously torture herself over this. She had every right to show just how scared she really was.

And why wouldn't she be? She had been assaulted, for crying out loud. By a group of zoners whom she didn't even know. This had never happened to her before. Sure, she had some jerk ass zoners like Jacko mess with her. But never a full on mob before.

What made it even worse is that none of them knew exactly what those zoners' problems were. None of them could understand why they would do such a thing. None of them could figure out what their motivation was. What did they mean by Rapsheeba was a disappointment? Did they attack her simply for her music? Or was there something else going on here? Was there an underlining issue that they just weren't seeing?

Well regardless of the reason, Snap would be damned if he allowed them to get near Rapsheeba again. She did not deserve to get attacked. She would never hurt anyone. He could not believe that anyone would want to up and attack someone who had been nothing but kind and friendly, like Rapsheeba. The mere idea of it caused his blood to boil and his grip on her tighten.

But there was nothing that he could do about it now. He had already reported it to the local ChalkZone City police. They said that they will do whatever they could to help. He had to trust in them. They will get to the bottom of this somehow. For now, he focused on comforting Rapsheeba.

After several minutes of crying, Rapsheeba started to slow down. Her crying softened up and soon dissipated into shaky whimpers. Her body became more relaxed and he could tell that her muscles were loosening up. Slowly, Rapsheeba released her grip on him and she pulled herself back. Snap could see just how tear-stained her face was, which was enough to make him flinch and want to reach out and touch it.

Rapsheeba raised an arm up and rubbed it against her face, smearing the tears along her cheeks. "I.. Thank you for..." She sniffled loudly before turning her gaze down. "S-Sorry about that..."

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Queenie." Snap put his hand on her arm. He gently squeezed it, giving her a gentle smile. "Don't worry. I'm here for you."

Rapsheeba smiled at this. She wiped away more of her tears and snot as she said, "Yeah, I know... I'm grateful for that..."

Snap smiled back at her. He then thought about what he had originally come here for. He paused, hesitating to say anything else. Rapsheeba had looked so broken just a little while ago. Did he really want to rake up anything? Did he really want to make her think about what happened? To discuss matters of what had occurred? Well if he wanted to help her combat those zoners, if he wanted to prevent something like this from happening again...

Narrowing his eyes slowly, he said, "I know you really don't want to talk about this.." Snap finally said. "But...I need you to tell me more of what had happened."

Rapsheeba's eyes widened at this. "What..?"

Snap let out a sigh. "I don't like asking myself. But I..." He stared at her intently. He reached out and gripped her arms tightly. "I know you haven't told us everything. There's something more to that attack. If there's any details that you are hiding, can you please... tell me...?" He felt his body trembling. "Please, I-I don't want this to happen to you again..."

Snap tried as best as he could to not cry. But he did not do a good job of it. He could already feel the burning tears at his eyes, dripping down and streaming along his cheeks. He reached up and frantically tried to wipe them away with this hands constantly. Even when he managed to get his cheek dry, more tears just covered it, making it cold and slick.

Rapsheeba's hands touched his face, her palms pressing against them and her fingers gently caressing him. Snap looked up at her, his eyes blinking open and closed repeatedly. Raspheeba smiled at him before leaning in and giving him a quick kiss on the forehead.

"I know you're worried about me, Snap. And... I know you're just trying to help." Rapsheeba smiled the best that she could. "I understand that me hiding things... That's not going to do any good." She shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry about all of that."

"Don't be. It's all right." Snap said as he gently pat her on the back, comforting her.

"Do you...want me to tell you what happened?" Rapsheeba asked.

Snap nodded solemnly.

sss

Zibble's eyes widened in horror as she continued to listen to what was being said. She pressed herself against the corner wall that led to the stairs. She kept herself as quiet as possible. At first, this had been easy. But soon she found it very hard not to want to let out a cry or two. Her hand was placed against her mouth, her eyes tearing up.

Why didn't Rapsheeba tell her and Blotz about this? Why didn't she tell them that he had been attacked? Oh gawd... She struggled to breathe in and out, her heart beating against her head, her mind swirling about. She couldn't believe what she had heard and she couldn't stop the thoughts from rampaging across her head. A dull ache spread throughout it quickly and she struggled not to throw up.

She turned her head and she looked over at Blotz, seeing just how horrified he was. She bit her lip, every part of her wanting to latch onto her brother and cry. Not just from feeling betrayed by Rapsheeba for lying to them, but for what happened to her at all. Although she had never seen any such hostile zoners like that before, she was not naive. She had just...hoped that they would never have to deal with such zoners in the future.

Well she had been _wrong._

"O-Oh... Blotz... Wh-What are..." Zibble stared to say. Her voice was shaky and trembly. She wiped her tears from her eyes, trying to keep her vision as cleared as possible. "What are we going to do...?"

Blotz just stared at her. His expression was hard to read. His eyes were wide but his mouth looked relaxed. It was like he was looking at a ghost. The shocking news that they both heard stunned him into silence. He did not cry, but she could see the torment swirling through his eyes. She knew her creation-mate well enough to know this.

And the more they both heard, the worse that it got. Zibble wished that she could just tune out what Rapsheeba was telling Snap below her. But she found it impossible to do so. She gripped her head tightly, her head swinging from one side to the other. More tears dripped down from her face, her teeth gritting tightly.

Suddenly, she could feel hands upon her shoulders. She looked up and she stared into Blotz's eyes. They stayed like this for several long seconds, breathing in and out in unison. Looking into her brothers eyes created a calming effect in her mind. They had been through so much together before, having been with each other for years while they were 'ghosts'. Blotz was often the only person who could calm her down.

And now was no exception.

Zibble wrapped her arms around her brother and cuddled up with him. Blotz held onto her tightly, rubbing her back up and down. They stayed like this for several long seconds, sharing each other's warmth, taking comfort in each other's embrace.

"It's not fair... Why didn't she tell us..?" Zibble choked. "W-We're her... I thought she..."

" _Shh_... It'll be okay. I'm sure she had a good reason." Despite what he said, Blotz still had some kind of tone in his voice, indicating disappointment. He gripped her arm and gently helpd her up. "Come on... Let's get to sleep."

Zibble rubbed her eyes dry and nodded her head. "Y-Yeah... Good idea.."

Silently, the two child-like creation-mates made their way back towards their bedroom. They would confront Rapsheeba in the morning. They hoped that she would cooperate.

sss

Rudy could not sleep. He tossed and he turned in his bed, trying to keep his eyes shut. He struggled to get the darkness to envelope him. He tried so hard to enter dreamland... But he just could not do it. He could feel his eyes burning slightly, an indication that they just could not stay closed. He opened them completely and he stared around him.

The darkness of his room had taken on a sort of greyish color. _How fitting_... He was still feeling pretty down. Perhaps that was why he could not sleep. His mind just would not let him forget what happened. His mind refused to allow him to rest. There was just too much going on. There was no time for sleep.

He hissed as he leaned himself back a little, turning his body around to ease the aches that shot through him. He stretched out his limbs, feeling some cracking. He let out a small groan and soon he was laying on his back. He folded his arms over his head and he stared up at the ceiling that was close to him. Out of boredom, he reached up and he tried to touch it. The ceiling was out of his reach.

Rudy's mind came alive with thoughts. Any hint of tiredness that he had faded away quickly, much to his dismay. This was a sort of tiredness that was not going to go away that easily. He had this before and he recalled how it took him until three in the morning to get any sleep. That had been one of his worst nights ever, and tonight was shaping up to be yet another such a night.

But how could he sleep right now, knowing what had happened to Rapsheeba? He had no idea how he was able to sleep before. Perhaps the fear and shock of it all caused him to be more tired than usual. Now that everything's settled in, now that he understood what was happening, his mind's gears just kept turning. He couldn't help but fear for what was in store for ChalkZone later.

He couldn't stop thinking about those zoners and what they had done. He couldn't get why they would up and attack Rapsheeba like that. He couldn't understand why they would go out of their way to harm a zoner who had done nothing to them. In all of his time being in ChalkZone, he never knew Rapsheeba being a hostile person. She was always sweet with everyone and really approachable.

So what did these zoners have against her? Why were they so angry at her that they would attack her? Why would they beat her up in a gang like that? There had to be some sort of reason for it, right? He couldn't imagine that they did it just for the shits and giggles.

He tried to think of what possibilities there could have been. He tried to think of anything that Rapsheeba might have done in the past. Anything that drew attention. Like any activist thing or something controversial. Anything... But he could only draw a blank in his head, his brain throbbing from the attempt to figure something out. He was at a loss. There wasn't anything to hold Rapsheeba to.

But there still had to be something. Rudy tried again. He had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to sleep until he got some sort of idea. So he kept putting his aching mind to work as he tried to answer this unsolveable riddle. If he could just figure out motivations...

There was just nothing that was coming to his mind, though. He tried to think of any reason for any of the zoners to be upset, but nothing clicked in with him. It was frustrating him, twisting up his internal organs as he fought to cling to something that made sense. Nothing happened recently out of Skrawl's attack and he doubted those zoners were upset about that.

Argh... This was so infruriating... Rudy clutched his head tightly, pressing his fingernails against his scalp, seething through clenched teeth. He didn't want to believe that those zoners attacked for no reason. They had a motivation somewhere. They had something up their sleeve. And he knew that they were not going to give up. The faster he could figure out their motivations, the better.

But no matter how hard he tried, there was only thing that he could come up with. Only one thing that connected all those zoners together.

 _They were stick figures._

But..did that really mean anything? Did that have any correlation at all? Was that something worth talking about, worth thinking about? He didn't really know, and he kept tugging at his hair as he tried to make some sort of sense out of this. He wanted to believe that the stick figure thing was a clue. But whatever it was hinting at... He wasn't able to figure it out.

He didn't want to give up. He would figure this out. He would learn once and for all just what a bunch of stick figures wanted with Raphseeba, why they were pissed off at her, why they were doing this, why they...

Rudy tried to stop his thoughts before he went too nuts. He took in a few slow breaths, settling himself down. He could feel his heart racing against his chest and he put his hand to it. He eventually managed to slow down his breathing rate and he exhaled slowly.

Despite it all, he was confident that perhaps they would figure this out. It was going to be tough, but they would eventually figure out just what was going on here. They would figure out what the stick figures' motivations were for attacking and they would do what they could to prevent them from causing more trouble. He just...hoped that it wouldn't take until well after the stick figures caused major damage before that would happen.


	7. Not In Charge

Well this was certainly going to take a while to get used to. How had he ended up in this kind of situation? He tried his best to be as calm and still as possible, but that was growing continuously difficult. How was he supposed to respond in a situation like this? He just could not...

But he did not want to do anything to end up making things worse, either. He had been lucky that things did not result in something as bad as he thought they would have been. He was lucky to have gotten this sort of chance. He was lucky that this medium was interested at all in what he had done, what his abilities were. If he had done something stupid earlier, this all could have been done and over with.

But still, it was going to take a while before he got comfortable in here. Sitting around in this large, Future Dome place, filled with high tech stuff that probably didn't do anything all that spectacular. This room was far different from anything he has ever sat in before. It had that 'charming weirdness' that Future Dome in general had. This was worse than Craniac's room. And here he thought it could not get any worse.

Skrawl wasn't sure if he was more annoyed by that, or if he was more pestered by just how crowded this place was. It had turned into one large meeting. This hooded figure, Pascal he believed that they called themselves, they had not come alone. They had dragged with them a whole group of people. So many... Them combined with the other citizens of Future Dome already in here, it was no wonder it was getting rather crowded.

Skrawl immediately noticed how all of these citizens who had come in were stick figure zoners. A _rather odd_ choice, he would think. Why would Pascal bring these sorts of people into this place? What would the point of them be? He could not fathom it. It wasn't like the stick figures had any sort of special powers. Most of them, at this base level were useless. Just throwaway zoners that young human artists sometimes made.

And yet for some reason, Pascal saw potential in them. They must have had a reason to bring them with. There had to be some sort of plan with them. Skrawl just couldn't understand yet what that could be.

Well despite not knowing what was going on, Skrawl was still more or less impressed by the large level of help that Pascal had. Loyal followers were hard to come by. Skrawl could only dream of having so many intelligent, competent people at his side. If only more of his Beanie Boys were like this...

He momentarily wondered where Craniac was. If he was going to be involved in this, he might as well join this meeting. After all, why not? They were all on the same side here. And he just might have something useful to tell them. Something that could help turn things around. Something like... Well, he did not really know. But he was certain something would come up eventuallly.

He looked around the room slowly, his mismatched eyes turning left and right. He once again noted how many zoners were in this place. He did not see the need for so many in this one spot. Perhaps Pascal wanted to address them at some point. But couldn't they have at least done that in a better way? Like, give them some breathing room at least. Or rather, give him breathing room. After all, he was...

He stopped his train of thought when he finally noticed just where Pascal was sitting. They were a bit further away from the others, situated in what looked to be a corner of the room. They were quietly observing everything, like nothing special was going on. They seemed almost...too quiet, too calm. It was a bit unnerving.

Licking his lips slowly, Skrawl decided to have a chat with them. There were sitll a few things that needed to be discussed. He was not about to fully embark on whatever plan this zoner had unless he knew everything else. He was not stupid. He knew that he could easily be taken advantage of. So that was why he was going to get as much information now as he could. Slowly, he made his way over there.

When he got closer, he had to stop and stare at Pascal for a moment. He looked at them up and down noting their details. He couldn't help but shudder at just how human-like they looked. The details were rather fine tuned, almost like the lines had been traced. That was a possibility, right? It was very likely that something like this could have happened, which would explain why this zoner was so eerily human-like.

Skrawl managed to shake off his uneasy feeling as he forced himself closer to Pascal. The zoner did not look up to acknowledge him, not even when Skrawl sat down next to them. It was almost like he wasn't there. Skrawl narrowed his eyes at this and he eventually tapped the zoner on the shoulder. Now this, Pascal paid attention to, and they looked up at him, staring almost blankly.

" _Yes?_ What is it, Skrawl?" Pascal asked. They sounded a bit...bored. This was in contrast to their more excited self earlier. Were they the type that ran out of energy fast? Or were they trying to insult him?

Skrawl growled at this thought. He sure hoped that wasn't the case. "You talked about helping me get revenge on Rudy, and yet here we are, just sitting around, doing nothing. I want action!" He swung his fist downward. "Why haven't you done what you promised yet?!"

"Because there's still more work to be done." Replied the zoner.

" _More work?!_ " Cried Skrawl.

"Yes." Pascal nodded. "You are not the only one here who wishes for revenge."

Skrawl tilted his head to one side. "Yes, I am aware of that, actually." He raised his hands up, the sharp tips of his talons coming inward. "But you haven't told me why. I have a good reason, but what about the rest of these guys?" Skrawl then motioned out around him as he took a step foward. "Do you care to explain that to me? And why aren't they doing any work?"

Pascal let out a small sigh. "Is that what you think? Do you believe that no one here is doing anything?" They looked away, tapping their foot in an almost disappointed manner. "I thought you were supposed to be the clever one."

"What did you say about me?!" Skrawl howled, raising his voice up. "Who the fuck are you to say...!"

"You are really allowing your temper to get the better of you. What, is something...bothering you...?" Pascal gave a small smile towards Skrawl, their mouth corners curled upwards, contorting their face slightly. "You have something happen to you recently that's making you act this way? Something that you feel...shame for?"

Skrawl growled at this, but he said nothing.

Pascal just continued to smile. "I see that I am correct." They shifted themself a little, moving themself to one side slightly. "You don't have to be that upset, dear Skrawl. This is where you can redeem yourself." Skrawl's eyes flickered at this. "A number of zoners here wish that they could have done something different, and they feel guilty about it. But they are going to do something about it." They raised their hand upwards. "They are going to take back what is theirs."

Skrawl didn't say anything. He couldn't think of anything to say, which was a first for him. He merely observed the zoner, taking in their words. He still wasn't sure entirely what to think about this zoner, and they were at times pretty confusing. But he was curious to know where they were going with this.

He looked over and he stared out towards the other zoners around here. He was not at all surprised that some of them wanted revenge for something. Why did Pascal think that he didn't know? He...

 _Unless_... Did Pascal mean revenge against Rudy? That would certainly change everything, if that were the case. Skrawl knew of so little people that had issues with Rudy. To think that all of these zoners might be like him, might want to do something about that boy... He could feel a small smile cracking along his face despite the fact that, at the moment, he didn't know if this was true or not.

He remained silent still as Pascal turned to look back at him. Only a few seconds had passed, but for some reason, it felt so much longer than that. Skrawl waited in silence to hear what more this zoner had to say to him.

"Trust me when I say that if you allow things to go through the way I want them to, then you can have your revenge, as well as they can." Pascal's voice was a bit low, almost mysterious-like. It was somewhat frustrating that Pascal hadn't really revealed the scope of what they wanted to do yet. Skrawl wanted to know more about this supposed plan. "You haven't been the only one hurt. Cheated..deprived..." Pascal's eyes narrowed into slits. "You're not the only one...who has had the entirety of ChalkZone turn against you..."

Skrawl blinked at this. At first, he thought Pascal was referring to something else. Then the jellybean was bombarded by flashes of his own treatment when he first came here. He could feel lightning bolt after lightning bolt in his head and he was not able to stop it.

Images of him being beaten and tossed aside like he was nothing...

He shook his head. He tried to push back that though the best that he could. He had done this so often in the past that he no longer knew if it was real or not. That did not make it any more enjoyable. Gritting his teeth and seething, he turned his attention back to Pascal.

"I repeat my question of before." Skrawl spoke through gritted teeth. "I am losing my patience, so I want you to tell me exactly what your motivation is." He placed a hand to himself. "I already told you mine..." He motioned towards the human-ike zoner. "What is your story? Just...who are you exactly? How did you come into ChalkZone?"

There was a bit of silence that followed after this. Skrawl assumed that this meant that Pascal was thinking of a response, perhaps trying to put a string of words together to explain. So he stood back and he waited, giving them enough time to reply.

But when so much time had started to pass, Skrawl began to grow more and more irritated. He had no idea what was taking so long with an answer. It shouldn't have been this difficult to tell him something. Pascal wasn't even bothering to look at him, the asshole. It was as though Pascal was taunting him, teasing him like he was nothing important. The jellybean-like zoner tightened his hands, pressing his claws agaisnt his palms. He was not going to let them treat him this way.

He began to walk towards the zoner slowly, their back still towards him. Skrawl didn't exactly make himself that silent as he walked, so the fact that the zoner still looked away told Skrawl that they were deliberately doing this. It was as though they did not care what he did, and that just made him all the more willing to strike.

This had gone on long enough. He was not going to take it any longer. He had been intrigued by this zoner before, with the promise of revenge. But now they were not going to tell him fucking anything? What was wrong with them? Didn't they know that they had to divulge information if they wanted a partnership to work? Even fucking Craniac knew that and...

 _Wait_... perhaps he should ask Craniac about this. He would be more cooperate, would he not? He was still a part of this. In fact, he was the one who had helped to 'test' him earlier or whatever. He was somewhere around here, probably flipping through some of his failed discoveries. It would be a waste of time to continue trying to argue with Pascal, so Skrawl forced himself to stop.

Slowly, he released a small sigh and cleared his throat. Pascal turned and looked over their shoulder. Skrawl looked at them for several long moments. He still felt the urge to pry out more information, but he quickly reminded himself that he had a better alternative. So he gestured his head to one side.

"I'm going to go speak with Craniac..."

Pascal raised an eyebrow at this. They seemed a little confused, as though they didn't understand what he was saying. Then Pascal just shrugged their shoulders. "Alright.. Not like you need to report to me about that..."

Skrawl just sneered at them briefly before he walked off. It was time for him to speak with Craniac again. And this time, he was going to make sure that robot fucking cooperated with him. He was not going to have the option to say 'no' this time.

He proceeded to walk down the hallway, ignoring any stares he got from the other zoners. He ignored the fact that most of these zoners were stick figures. Yes, there were other types of zoners sprinkled here and there. But for the most part, they were all stick figures. Really cheap humanoid zoners who... He had to pause for a moment. Could this have something to do with...? Was this connected to why these zoners wanted revenge...?

He couldn't really think of any reason, though. Artists don't really pay that much attention to stick figures. They aren't really tormented all that much. At least, not from what he has seen. Was there something else that he wasn't getting?

Oh well, he could worry about it later. Right now, he wanted to focus on getting information out of Craniac. If Pascal wouldn't cooperate, then perhaps Craniac will. And if not Craniac... If Skrawl didn't choose to try to kill him, he could opt for someone slightly on the lower end of the stick. Like those two he had seen before, who were with Pascal. What were their names? Jax and Jonathan? Yeah, maybe those two would help him out.

After passing through a couple of hallways and going around several zoners, many of whom were looking at him weirdly, considering that he was sticking out like a sore thumb, Skrawl managed to get out of the main crowd and out into a more open area. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized that the entirety of this building was not filled to the rim with zoners. Of course, the zoners that were here might come in handy later on, if things do work out and...

His thoughts trailed off when he saw Craniac up ahead, further down the empty hallway. He looked as though he were carrying several pieces in his hands. They appeared to be different robotic parts. Seeing this, Skrawl realized that he had been correct. Craniac was gathering more of those 'futuristic failures'. The jellybean recalled that the robot did have some kind of device that could find these things and he always tends to bring them back, at least from what he has seen.

Before the zoner had a chance to start walking off, Skrawl started to rush towards him quickly, moving as fast as he could. He raised up his hand and waved it back and forth, trying to get his attention.

"Hey! Craniac! Hold up!" Skrawl cried out, panting. "I need to talk to you!"

Craniac stiffened up momentarily before looking over at Skrawl. His robot eyes seemed to have widened in shock, but it was a little hard to tell with this guy. After calming down quickly, he said, "Don't scare me like that!" Skrawl did not apologize. Craniac held up his hand in gesture. "Just what are you doing here anyway? Are you going to try to make me a part of your 'scheme'?"

Skrawl narrowed his eyes. "And you are a part of Pascal's 'scheme'?"

"That's different!" Craniac pointed his hand at him. "They know exactly what they are doing! They have proven themself to me! They aren't like you! They don't try to make me do stupid shit and they actually listen to me!" Craniac moved closer to Skrawl. He glared at him right in the eyes, almost challenging him despite the fact that Skrawl was stronger than him. "And of course, they care about the fate of others while you're happy to throw away lives!" Craniac motioned his hand towards Skrawl in an accusing manner.

Skrawl growled deeply at this. "You know that's not true. I..."

"Oh yes, of course. You care about your Beanie Boys." Craniac stopped himself. "Oh wait, I'm wrong. You only care about some of your Beanie Boys. I hear you have no qualms about throwing out Beanie Boys that don't make the grade."

"That is beyond the point and you know it!" Skrawl could feel his blood already heating him.

"Nonetheless, I have nothing more to say to you." Craniac waved his hand dismissively, his body turned to the side. "Now leave me be. I have some important business to attend to."

Skrawl growled lowly, his yellow teeth bared. Then, a smile curled along his face as he gave a dark chuckle. "Yes, because a bunch of bolts mean everything in the world to you."

That seemed to have struck a nerve with Craniac. The light red robot suddenly froze, his body going rigid. Then he slowly looked over at Skraw. Despite the lack of expression, there was...something so intense about this stare that Skrawl found it impossible to look away. It was almost like some sort of train wreck. No matter how hard he tried, he just could not look away.

Craniac made his way over towards Skrawl. He was still cradling the bolts in his arms, holding them like they were a precious thing to him. Skrawl wanted to say something about this, but for some reason, he could not bring himself to do anything. He did not back away, but when the robot kept getting closer, he really did feel the urge to try to get back from him.

Soon the robot was right up against him practically. He was so close, Skrawl could feel his breath. Or rather, he would if Craniac had to breathe the same way that he did. He almost thought that Craniac was going to slap him, but instead, the robot appeared to keep his cool. He was still trembling, but Skrawl wondered just how much he was holding back.

When the robot spoke, Skrawl could not help but feel some coldness up and down his spine when he heard it. The voice... it did not sound like how he was used to. It was...deepened, almost like a normal, non-robotic voice. That, matched up with Craniac's roboticness, that was pretty freaky.

"Do you know what it's like here? I'm sure that you do. So don't lie... Every day children draw things that are eventually doomed to be failures. Not just them but adults, too. Then they are discarded like nothing. I would think that you, out of all zoners, would understand this."

Skrawl stared at Craniac for a few long silent moments, blinking his eyes slowly. He struggled to think of what Craniac was talking about, his mind a bit locked in with what just happened. It didn't take too long to figure things out, though, and soon his eyes widened up for a moment. He had to admit, Craniac did have a point there. His own creation was just... Skrawl had been just randomnly created with no purpose and fucking Rudy did not do anything to stop it.

But regardless, he was not going to let Craniac see that he understood. He was not going to let himself appear weak like that. Skrawl had shot away sympathy in the past. That never did him any favors. He was not stupid. He would not be blinded like that again. So he just narrowed his eyes into slits and raised his hand up, giving Craniac a rather...obscene gesture with a certain raised finger.

Craniac did not seem all that bothered by this. If anything, he was rather amused, his body going loose, no longer tensed up. "Wow, _real_ mature there, Skrawl. Is this because you needed help from your mortal enemy?"

"Fuck you..." Skrawl hissed lowly.

"Hey I'm just calling it as I see it." Craniac shrugged nonchalantly. "It isn't my fault if you act this way." He lowered his arms down a little, still holding onto the bolts and nuts and whatever else that he had in his arms. "I know that you are a bit...bummed out from needing help from Rudy. Trust me, I would probably be a little annoyed myself. But take my advice: you are the one who can control your reactions. You can choose to let yourself become angry, or you can do something about it." Craniac shifted slightly. "You're being given a chance for that with Pascal. I suggest you don't screw it up."

Skrawl narrowed his eyes at this. If Craniac thought that these words were encouraging, he was dead wrong. What did he flipping know about emotions and reactions and that sort of stuff? Then again, he was a computer. So was it any wonder that he thought like this?

Suddenly it hit him. Skrawl realized that he almost forgot why he had come down here in the first place. He immediately cleared his throat as he moved towards the robotic zoner. "So...I actually came here to ask you a question. Pascal is being uncooperative, so I was hoping that you would be more helpful."

Craniac stared at him for a few moments, staring at him as though he had gone crazy. "What makes you think that I would tell you?"

Immediately Skrawl had to fight the urge to grab onto the robot and shake him. "You little...! All I want to know is..."

"...something I don't know either."

Skrawl stopped himself. He stared at the zoner before him for several long beats, trying to think of how he could react to this. He couldn't help but feel a burning confusion rushing through his blood. He struggled to control himself as he responded with, "You mean you...don't know either...?"

Craniac shook his head. "If I did, I would have told you." His tone of voice wasn't completely indicative, but considering how Pascal had treated him before, Skrawl wouldn't really find Craniac being truthful here to be all that difficult to believe. "Pascal doesne't seem to want to tell anyone about what they want. They have been rather secretive, even from those they have 'hired'."

"Oh really now?" Skrawl asked, tilting his head to the side. "That's...quite interesting.."

"Indeed. A mystery.." Craniac took a moment to rub his...whatever it was called. Chin? Skrawl had no fucking clue. "Well, I need to...tend to some business. So, see you around, Skrawl." The red robot waved his hand to him before strolling away.

Skrawl turned himself around and stared back the way he had come. So not even Craniac knew exactly what was going on? That was...not what he had expected. He would have thought, given his involvement, he'd know something. That made him wonder just how Pascal managed to gather this many zoners. Was there something that they were hiding from them?

He was going to find out sooner or later. He was not going to allow this zoner to remain silent on the subject forever. If they wanted to cooperation, they were going to hand over the information. They needed to tell him whatever he wanted to know. After all...

He was the one who was still in charge ultimately of this operation, correct? Pascal should listen to him. And Skrawl was going to make sure that they fucking did. Pascal needed to learn their place and Skrawl was more than happy to help out with that.

Without another thought, Skrawl headed down the hallway, returning to where that zoner was.

sss

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well you seem so... I'm not sure what the word is."

"Look, what other choice did we have?"

"But still..."

"At least we have a chance with these guys."

"..if you say so."

Jonathan let out a small sigh. He didn't want to keep questioning his leader like that. He knew how much stress Jax had been under just a short time ago. He didn't feel like adding to the complications.

That didn't mean that he himself was fully relaxed, though. Nor did it mean that he understood this situation. He was so confused by this whole thing. It had all happened so fast. He struggled to comprehend it all. He found it difficult to do so. And he doubted he ever would come to understand just why Jax wanted to do this.

It's not like Jax agreed right away to help out this Pascal character. It had taken some motivational speeches or some crap to get him to agree. But it just seemed so...odd that he would agree so quickly. Pascal had been troublesome for them before. They hadn't exactly been allies in the past. Jax himself had often said to not trust them. So why in the world would he have agreed to this? What exactly had changed?

Jonathan tried not to let himself think about that too much. He would only end up hurting his mind more and that's not what he needed right now. He should just move on from this. In the end, they were working with Pascal, despite past incidents.

Maybe it was a good thing. This reunion, it might yield better results than before. And it did see mlike Pascal genuinely understood where they were coming from. If their speech was of any indication, they had ultimately decided they wanted to help them out. They did not actually apologize for their past behavior, but that did not mean that they actually weren't sorry for not.

Still, this seemed _so_...fast and unexpected. This seemed rather odd and strange. He tried once more to figure out just what motivated Pascal, what motivated Jax. But he was unable to come up with anything.

That wasn't the only thing, though. And it wasn't why he was debating with Jax. No, he already had that subject with him. Instead, there was something else that concerned him.

Was it really wise to work with these non-stick figure zoners...?

He honestly had no clue whether or not they were trustworthy or not. He didn't know if he could take anything they said seriously. Considering how things usually were, he just overall found it more comforting to speak with a fellow stick figure than one of these guys.

Why would Skrawl be included? Granted, it wasn't like he was dismissive of his backstory or anything. But still, he was..not exactly the most well rounded character. He might end up making this so much worse. Would it not be wise to try another tactic? Why should Skrawl be involved in any of this at all? Maybe they should just...

He stopped himself when he looked over and he could see Skrawl storming this way. Immediately, the stick figure zoner stiffened, wondering if Skrawl had happened to overhear what he had said about him. Somehow, with how their luck had been going lately, he honestly would not be fucking surprised by this.

But instead of what he had expected, Skrawl walked right pasted him. Didn't bother to look at him. He just kept walking, going right on down towards... Isn't that where Pascal was? Jonathan blinked a few times at this. He looked over at where Jax was. His leader looked preoccupeid at the moment. Filled with curiosity, Jonathan decided to follow this zoner. Perhps he could get a better understanding about him. Perhaps his uncertainties could be finally quelled.

Slowly, the stick figure followed Skrawl. Such a thing wasn't too hard. Most of the other zoners here were too busy talking to each other to notice him. The ones who did hadn't attempted to stop him or draw attention to him. They seemed mostly curious by what he was doing. And Skrawl? He was so determined to get to where he wanted to go that he did not pay any attention to him at all. He probably didn't even hear anything behind him.

A few moments later, Jonathan realized that he had been correct. Skrawl really was going towards Pascal. He frowned his eyes a little. He couldn't help but wonder just what Skrawl's motivation was. What had compelled him to do this? Hadn't he already tried to speak with Pascal before and it backfired? Interesting how this jellybean kept going back for more.

Regardless, Jonathan still followed. He was curious to see this trainwreck, curious to see if it would lead anywhere, just overall wondering what was going to happen. A part of him hoped that this non-stick figure zoner would be able to help him figure out what to expect about this whole situation.

"Pascal! I want to talk to you!"

The zoner turned and looked at him. They seemed a little frustrated. "Oh, it's you again. What do you want from me this time?"

"You know _exactly_ what I want! _Answers!_ And you're going to give them to me right now!" Skrawl demanded, pointing a finger at the zoner before him. "I'm the one in charge of this whole operation!" Pascal raised an eyebrow. Skrawl turned himself to the side, making a few gestures with his hand. "Oh sure, some of this might be your idea. But I'm the one running the show here." He pointed a claw at himself, glaring down at Pascal. "If you want to continue working with me, you'd better speak up."

A long silence, almost as though to purposely taunt the jellybean zoner. It appeared to work, given how Skrawl was growling the longer the silence lasted. And then finally, a calm answer.

"Whoever said _you_ were in charge?"

Skrawl's eyes widened at this. He gave a soft splutter, "What are you talking about?"

It was easy for Jonathan to see the glint in Pascal's eyes. "You heard me." They said as they turned to stare at Skrawl completely. "What makes you think you were ever the leader around here?"

Jonathan watched Skrawl, wondering what his response was going to be.

sss

Skrawl couldn't believe what he had just heard. He struggled to think of a response, but for the time being, he was just frozen.

Was this guy for real? Did they really think that they could just...say something like that in his presence? Skrawl was beyond understanding this, to the point where he could only just splutter over his own tongue. He took in several deep breaths as he attempted to keep himself calm. But it wasn't working and soon he could hear himself growling lowly.

"Now you see here... If you think you can just..." Skrawl started to say, only to be cut off by Pascal.

"No, you see here." Pascal hissed. "Just because I ask you to join... Doesn't mean that you are in charge..."

Skrawl could feel his mind spinning at this, burning as though someone had taken a frying pan and smacked him with it. He took in a few deep breaths, his breathing getting more and more growly by the second. He felt his lips curl up into a snarl and his body started to shake heavily. He formed tight fists with his hands and it took him all of his energy not to snap at this zoner.

Those words kept hitting against his head over and over again, reminding him that this zoner had not misspoken. They really had said those things and they really did think that they were in charge. Knowing that this zoner wanted to take over his position, to steal away what was rightfully his, that was something that could not go unpunished.

The jellybean zoner's first instinct was to raise up his hand and strike at this fucking idiot. He wanted to show them that they could not do that to him. They could not just barge in and act like they were in charge. It had always been him, and him alone. Skrawl didn't need anyone else's help to lead. What these zoners all needed to do was listen to his ideas and what he wanted. He would take suggestions, but that didn't mean that he was letting them lead. Perhaps that was the problem with this guy. Perhaps he did not assert to them enough the rules.

Well, time to correct that. It shouldn't take much to put this zoner in their place. Then once he's reestablished the proper order of things, they could move onto the next thing.

Skrawl moved in closer to Pascal. He didn't show fear or anything to them, nor did they look at him strangely. It was like they had the confidence to match. Skrawl smirked inwardly. They would see about that. Once he got close enough, he reached out and he grabbed onto Pascal's shoulder. He didn't squeeze too much, yet he ensured that they could not squirm away that easily.

"Let me explain something to you, mister." Skrawl's voice was slightly trembly but a bit more calm than he thought it was going to be. "When I agreed to help you, I never said that you were going to be in charge of any of this." Skrawl looked at them intently, leaning in towards them and slowly baring his teeth. "I do hope that I don't have to keep correcting you..."

Pascal just watched in silence, tilting their head to one side. Skrawl noticed them raising an eyebrow, and at that, he released a low growl.

"Do you understand me? I know I must sound like a broken record, but I think we need to establish some conduct here." Skrawl made a few gestures with his hand, his claws flexing in and out repeatedly. "You do know who I am, right? You do know that I have come up with some brilliant plans in the past and..."

"...they've _all_ failed."

Skrawl stopped at this. "What did you say?"

"I said..they have all failed." Pascal repeated themself. They nonchalantly pulled themself away, getting free surprisingly easily despite Skrawl's best efforts. "You are mistaken, Skrawly boy. You were never the one in charge." Pascal began to walk around him slowly. "I called up on you for help. You are the one who works for me. If you want your chance at revenge, you will have to listen to me."

Skrawl narrowed his eyes into slits. He was not going down without a fight. He took a step closer, puffing himself up, trying to make himself look larger. "And what will you do if I don't step down?"

Pascal stared at him for a moment before releasing a laugh. " _You? Step down?_ Why, Skrawl, there's _nothing_ to step down from!" Pascal shook their head from side to side as they said this. "Why must you delusion yourself like that? You will only end up hurting yourself."

While a part of Skrawl understood that he needed to be careful with someone that he didn't know well enough, his emotions still got the better of him. Suck a fickle thing they were; they had more than once gotten in the way of things. But that was just part of his pride that he needed to defend. And thus, he didn't really try to stop himself when he rushed at Pascal, his feet pounding the ground, his hand raised up, poised to strike.

It had all happened so quickly.

When his claws were brought down, he could see Pascal moving to the side. It was like slow motion almost, and yet still fast. Skrawl's eyes widened when he turned his head, trying to see what the zoner was about to do. He could see Pascal doing..something, but he wasn't able to tell what it was.

Then came the pain. The sharp, horrible pain... Skrawl's eyes bulged open and he stifled a scream as he collapsed onto his knees, his remaining limb clutching his side. No feeling of blood, and yet he still felt like something had been cracked internally. He coughed a few times as he lifted his head up and stared over at the zoner. His wide eyes held anger and confusion. It took him a moment to see the hammer in Pascal's hand. Wide and hard, no wonder he was hurting so much.

"Y-You..." Skrawl spluttered. He tried to get up, but the pain stopped him and he slipped back down. "You won't..."

Pascal walked in front of him. They held the hammer in their hands, patting it lightly, ready to use it once more. "Don't worry. The pain will go away shortly. But if you want it to last longer..." Pascal stared down at him with a pair of slightly crazed eyes. "I'd be more than happy to assist you."

Skrawl tried not to look afraid, and yet his eyes still widened big. He could feel his mind swirling, struggling to figure out some kind of answer. Yet in the end, he knew what the right choice to make was. Slowly, he exhaled and he lowered his head, swallowing his pride in the process.

"Good... Don't worry, you'll get what you deserve soon enough." Pascal turned and began to walk away. "There just needs to be a few things worked out."

Skrawl lifted his head up and watched as the zoner walked away. He couldn't believe what had happened to him. He couldn't believe that he had allowed this zoner to take over, to steal his spotlight from him. He took in a few shuddered breaths, his teeth becoming bared. He would need to find a way to put this zoner in his place. He would need to find a way to ensure that the proper order was brought back. He needed to...

Skrawl soon forced a sigh out of his open mouth. He began to wonder if he really was becoming a little too defensive like some others pointed out before. Maybe he really was allowing his 'forced help from Rudy' thing get to him. Maybe he should let someone else take over for a little while. Maybe he... needed to slap himself in the face for giving up too easily. But no matter, his current priority was Rudy after all. Pascal would come next.

Slowly, Skrawl crawled up to his feet, brushing himself off. He still flinched a few times, the pain still echoing throughout his body. He did his best to fight against it. He turned and limped away, trying to look for the nearest place to sit down.

sss

Jonathan flinched at what he had seen. He didn't know what he had expected, but certainly not seeing this near-fight almost break out. He was surprised that things didn't go much worse from there. The two almost looked poised to fight, and yet Skrawl backed down? Was he waiting for something or...

That just confirmed his thoughts from before. They really had to be cautous of this whole thing. They did need to watch their backs. There wasn't enough stability in this 'union' and he knew that it could easily break down if they weren't careful. He would need to consult things further with Jax. Maybe he could make sense of this situation.

Or perhaps he wouldn't be al that bothered. Jax did seem more willing to go along with this partnership than he was. And in fact, a number of the other zoners didn't seem to mind, either. He didn't know what had gotten into them. He didn't know why they wouldn't try to be more forceful, to assert themselves more. Just what was it about Pascal that made them want to join up with them?

Perhaps it was their charisma? They certainly had a way of swaying people. Just look at how they managed to get them, the stick figure regime, to join despite them not having the best of histories before. And in the end, they were all united against a common enemy. The c... He dared not think of the name. It was too much of a mockery of what they all were. So he did this best to push back these horrid thoughts.

He stood there for several moments as he tried to think of what he should do. He could tell Jax about this incident. He could show him just how unstable things were. And perhaps that could convince Jax to pull out if the largest heads of this operation were not getting along well. After all, if they were going to pull off any sort of skit, if they were going to attempt to come up with a plan that would benefit them all, would they not at least cooperate well enough?

Jonathan gritted his teeth. The instability between Skrawl and Pascal was going to be worrisome. They did not need two zoners fighting for leadership. They neeeded cooperation. They all had the same end goals, right? Well sort of. What Skrawl wanted, that was similar, to an extent, to what the stick figure zoners like him wanted. By helping Skrawl, they would get part of what they wanted, which could lead to a pathway of getting more stuff and... Oh gawd, he hoped that Skrawl and Pascal didn't turn this into a competition for leadership...

He shook his head, realizing that he was allowing himself to become too wallowed in emotion. He needed to try to keep himself focused. He needed to make a decision. Either tell Jax of what he had seen...or keep it a secret and hope for the best.

While he would love to tell Jax, he had to pause and wonder. He thought about what happened before, with that fucking traitorous Raspheeba. He recalled how their plan had failed, how it had fallen apart when they acted alone. And he recalled Jax's guilt when he chose to flee instead of stand and fight for what was right. While Jonathan could not blame the zoner for running, considering they didn't have much of a choice otherwise, he coudl understand why Jax would feel guilty about that.

Then along came Pascal, who offered them something, who had managed to round up other like-minded zoners in Future Dome. Jonathan thought that there were a lot of them already, but combined with these zoners, they were massive. Shere numbers make them all feel... _powerful_. Not just safe. Powerful. And he knew full well that none of them wanted to lose that feeling.

Would it be right of him to go over and suggest that they leave? Would it be right of him to try to convince to the others that trying to walk away from this was a better solution? He recalled the faces on some of his fellow comrades. He had never seen them so happy before. Could he really just...take that all away from them just because of his own suspicions?

He released a heavy sigh. He knew the answer quite well. He could not do that to them. Even though he himself was not one hundred percent certain on any of this, he just..couldn't bring himself to say anything to this about the others. They deserved the hope. They deserved the chance. And he had no right to take that away from them. So with another heavy sigh, he turned and he began to walk away. What he saw, it would remain hidden within the confines of his own mind.

He just hoped that, in the end, he had made the right decision. He feared that if he made the wrong one, he would be the cause of the downfall to come. He didn't want to let everyone down. He didn't want to dash their hopes. He didn't want to...

And then in that moment, he realized what he could do instead. He turned his attention to Skrawl, watching as he still walked away in the distance. Jonathan narrowed his eyes slowly. A thought just came over his mind. Something that just might help him be able to secure things. If he could not retract everyone, then perhaps he could ensure that this union was not easily breakable.

He just needed to talk to Skrawl about this. If he could talk with that zoner and if he could convince him to stay true to this binding, to get him to agree that the benefits would come for everyone if they worked together, then maybe he could prevent Skrawl from creating trouble with Pascal. Who knows? Maybe he could even improve things. Make them better than they were before. Maybe he could...

There was only one way to find out. With that thought floating around inse of his mind, he began to walk towards the jellybean zoner.

sss

Zibble couldn't get to sleep. She tried to, but it seemed like, no matter how hard she tried, she just could not get to sleep. Her mind just wouldn't allow her that luxury. She could only just stay up, constantly thinking about what she had hurt. The thoughts wouldn't leave her. They would not let her be. They would not give her peace of mind. She released a small sigh as she sat up on her bed.

She could hear some soft snoring in her bed, right next to her. She looked down to watch Blotz continue to sleep, his mouth open and the air coming in and out noisily. She smiled a little at this. But this wasn't enough to cheer her up all that much. The dark feelings that she felt before returned with a vengeance, weighing down on her mind. She took in a deep breath and she sighed, her eyes moving slowly from side to side. She wished she could figure out what she could do. She just...couldn't stay lay like this forever.

She looked out of the open door, staring at the hallway that she knew was on the other side. She gritted her teeth tightly, exhaling deeply. She wondered what Rapsheeba was doing. Was she asleep too? Or was she awake? Considering what happened to her, she wouldn't be surprised if she continued to have rough nights.

At this, a part of Zibble felet betrayed. Why didn't Rapsheeba tell them about what happened? Blotz and her both wanted to believe that she had a good reason for it. But Zibble just couldn't honestly fathom any. Well none outside of trying to protect them, as one might say. Maybe Rapsheeba didn't think they were ready to know and...

Well fat lot of good that did. Zibble and Blotz both found out and because of Rapsheeba not explaining further, both of them were quite worried about her. Zibble could feel her stomach churning, ready to empty her stomach contents out of the shere fear of not knowing just what was going on with Rapsheeba. She didn't even know how bad it was. Being attacked was awful and all, but _what if something else had happened?_ She needed to know.

She leaned herself a little on her bed using her hands to keep herself being held up. She looked up at the ceiling above her, taking in slow, deep breaths. She could feel her mind aching a little as she tried to think of what she was going to say to Rapsheeba. Could she even try to lie to her? Could she really bring herself to do that? Yes, Rapsheeba lied but... Zibble gritted her teeth. She just wasn't as good at keeping a secret as Rapsheeba apparently was.

She took another look over at Blotz. Should she wake him up? She needed someone to talk to right now and he was the only one who currently understood the situation. Well the only one in ChalkZone, anyway. Rudy and Penny were away and Snap had gone home. Blotz was the only one who remained.

Zibble couldn't take it any longer. She needed to talk to someone. She needed to get this off of her chest. Reaching over, she grabbed onto Blotz's shoulder and started to shake it.

"Hey... Hey wake up..." She whispered. She listened to her brother groan and watched as his eyes fluttered open to look at her. She stared at him for several moments before she said, "Hey...c-can I talk to you...?"

Blotz released a low groan. He lifted himself up and then stared over at the clock nearby. Upon seeing the time, he turned his head to stare at Zibble. "It's two in the morning... What do you need...?"

Zibble felt a bit of guilt rushing through her when she realized what she was doing. But her own fears drove her forward. She moved closer towards him on the bed, her fingers gripping at the bedding beneath her. "Wh-What do you think we should do about..." She swallowed hard. "..about Rapsheeba...?"

Blotz blinked his eyes a few times. "I told you, we'll just leave it be for now. There isn't much that we can do." He adjusted himself in the covers. "I know you're just worried, Zibble. I can understand that. So am I." He reached up to rub his left eye a little. "But you're doing no one any favors with this, not at this time. So please, just go back to sleep."

Zibble bit her lip hard. "But I can't get to sleep. I've... I've tried and I just can't do it..."

Blotz looked up at her. His expression was still that of someone very sleepy, his eye skin around him darkened. But he still looked sympathetic, even if slightly subdued due to his tiredness. He yawned before pushing himself up. "Would you feel better if you cuddled up with me tonight?"

"I...I don't want to impose..." Zibble started to say.

"Nonsense, it's _fine!_ You look like you could use the company. So come on over, sis." He patted the bedding in front of himself gently, giving her a small smile. "It's all right. I don't mind."

Zibble hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do or to think. She didn't expect something like this to happen. She didn't think that he would be _so_ willing to... She shook the thought out of her head. Of course he would be willing to help. She should have realized that all along. Giving him a small smile, she started to crawl over towards him.

Once she was beside him, she cuddled up against him, smiling even more as she felt his arms moving around her body and holding her close. She could feel his warmth moving along through her body, making her feel more secure. Then, as she laid here for several moments, she shut her eyes softly. She soon felt a wave of tiredness overcoming her and she slipped out of consciousness.


	8. Horrific Realizations

"I just can't stop thinking about it, you guys..." Rudy commented. He did feel a little bad about bringing this up again. But it did just recently happen. And he knew that his friends were thinking about it, too. They all wanted answers to what happened, and the only way to get ideas is to just chat about it. Even if they ended up running around in circles constantly about the whole thing.

"I know Rudy. I haven't been sleeping well, either." Snap, normally cheerful or at least trying to lighten the mood, couldn't seem to bring himself to do such a thing lately. His eyes were downcast and Rudy could see the worried look in his eyes. "I mean... _after they attacked Rapsheeba_..." His voice trailed off. There was not much more that needed to be said. They all knew what he was talking about.

Penny rubbed the back of her head. "I still wish we could find some kind of connection." She held her hand up in gesture. "It's not like these zoners would have just up and decided to attack for no reason. There has to be a motivation."

"Yeah, good look finding one." Snap's voice had a surprisingly bitter tone to it. "I've already talked to Rapsheeba and she couldn't figure anything out, either."

Rudy and Penny stared down at Snap for a few seconds, watching as he folded his arms to himself and leaned against the nearby wall. His eyes were furrowed deeply and he just looked... _miserable_. That was the only word that could describe that look on his face. Just absolute misery.

And how could they blame him? Rapsheeba, someone whom he really cared about, had been attacked. They both realized they were repeating this to themselves over and over again, almost as though to hammer it in. But it was true and that was something neither of them could really afford to forget. Despite the fact that Snap's bitterness wasn't going to help them, they could not really be that upset with him. Out of all of them, he had been the closest to Rapsheeba. And neither Rudy nor Penny knew exactly what had happened when Snap and Rapsheeba had their chat. Who knows what was said?

Rudy had wanted to ask Snap how things had gone down, but he held his tongue. He feared that if he asked at the wrong time or sounded too pushy, he might upset Snap. He understood that his blue friend wanted to get back at the zoners who had done this to her. So he tried to keep most of his talk focused on figuring out who those zoners were and just what they wanted.

But of course, the first step into figuring that out is to figure out just where to begin. They had looks but they did not have names. Rudy didn't want to go just by appearances alone. Those zoners probably changed their looks by now. They weren't going to be dumb enough to waltz around in the exact same outfit. And the thing about stick figure zoners: they were notoriously difficult to track and find. They all looked so similar to one another. How could he hope to find these specific ones when they did not particularly stand out from the rest of them?

That was why getting names was so important. If he knew what their names were, they would have a better chance at finding them. It wasn't going to be easy, he knew. But he still trusted that he could manage to find at least a handful of names. That would be good enough, wouldn't it? It might at least narrow things down a little. He just needed to...

He stopped himself when he heard something loud and clanging, something rolling across the ground. He swiveled his head over, his eyes darting around as he tried to see what that noise had been. He soon could see Snap, his arms arched out, hands forming fists, and his teeth gritted tightly. He was glaring out at nothingness, mostly towards the ground. He had kicked a nearby stone out of frustration, it would seem. Rudy was surprised that it hadn't struck him.

"Snap..." Penny whispered softly. The girl moved closer to Snap, reaching out with her hand. "Please...don't be like this." Penny placed her hand on Snap's shoulder. She held it there for a few seconds, causing the zoner to glare over at her. She froze, but she still held her ground. "Snap, I know you're upset, but this is no reason for you to..."

"No reason for me to what, Buckette?" Snap slapped her hand away, causing Penny to yelp in surprise, staring at him in shock. "To legitimately worry about my _friend?!_ To fear what those creepazoids might do next?!"

" _No!_ No, that's not what I'm saying at all!" Penny moved her hands in front of herself quickly, trying to pacify the angered blue zoner. "I'm just... I..." She brought her hands to herself, clasping her fingers against one another. She remained like this for a few seconds before she finally said, "We all want to help Rapsheeba. But we won't be able to succeed if we let our emotions get in the way. We..."

Snap cut her off. "Oh, so you think I'm overreacting, do you?!" He took a few steps towards her, causing Penny to back up a little, her hands still out in front of her to show Snap that she was not looking for a fight. "Well I'll..."

"Snap! Stop it!" Rudy rushed forward after he couldn't take watching this anymore. He got himself in front of Penny, glaring down at Snap. "This isn't like you!"

Snap chuckled bitterly. "Yeah, and failing to help people isn't like you, either, Bucko." Snap motioned his rounded hand at Rudy as he said this.

Rudy widened his eyes in shock at this, his mouth dropping open. He tried to think of what to say to that, but he couldn't bring himself to talk. All he could do was just stare at Snap, his heart's pound echoing in his ears, as he tried to understand just what the heck had happened here. Why was Snap so pissed off at him and Penny? What in the world had they done? Or was Snap just letting loose some backed up emotions due to the whole thing with Rapsheeba? While understandable, that was no reason for him to...

They could hear footsteps right next to them. They looked over to see what it was. They could see what appeared to be a humanoid zoner. Not quite stick figure, but still pretty simple. Some kind of bystander. A passerby. Nobody to be really worried about. He was just regarding them curiously, an eyebrow raised up as though confused.

Rudy felt a bit of embarrassment striking him. He realized that he must have accidentally drawn attention to himself. Well not just him. They all had. They probably should have picked a more private place to chat than out here, in an alleyway of ChalkZone City. Why hadn't they gone to the treehouse again?

"S-Sorry, sir..." Rudy said. He gave a small smile at the passerby. "We were just..."

"Chatting, yeah. Nothing to be worried about." Penny chimed in.

Snap said nothing. He just stared over at the zoner and he nodded his head slowly, remaining silent.

The passerby stared at them long and hard, his eyes narrowing as though to silently judge them. He remained like this for who knows how long, and it was starting to get to Rudy. Just something about how he was looking at them. That glint in his eyes, the way that his face contorted. It wasn't like the zoner was going to attack them or anything. But there did seem to be something rather... off about him. Like he was thinking thoughts that they would not understand.

Eventually, the zoner did shrug his shoulders. "So typical. Creations and creators... Who the fuck cares...?"

This seemed to get Snap out of his silence. "Hey, you got a problem there?" Snap motioned towards the zoner in question. "You want to come over here and..." He stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You're going to let him go?" He asked when the zoner began to walk away, his feet's tapping disappearing into the distance.

"It's nothing to be concerned about." Rudy said firmly. "Just let it go."

Snap let out a forced sigh. "Yeah, I know. But still I..." Snap looked away, going silent for a few moments. Then he gave a few nervous chuckles and rubbed the back of his head and said, "Yeah uh... S-Sorry about yelling at you two earlier. I hadn't meant to... I..."

"Don't worry about it. We understand." Penny smiled gently. "We're not upset with you."

"Yeah, Snap. No hard feelings. We..." Suddenly Rudy stopped. He had no idea just how the thought came to him. It had come out of nowhere and just smacked him in the head, causing him to stiffen up. He looked out ahead at nothingness, his eyes bulging wide open.

"Rudy..?" Penny asked, raising her hand up slightly. "What is it? Why are you...?"

"Bucko? What is it?" Snap's voice came, filled with worry.

Rudy didn't answer either of them. He couldn't bring himself to. He couldn't even get his jaws to move as his mind swirled with several thoughts, pummeling him time and time again with this realization. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't do anything. He gritted his teeth tightly, grinding them against one another. He could hear his friends trying to call out to him, but he was unable to move a response. He could only just remain silent, his mind's gears turning.

He thought about what that zoner had said. Not that he was all that upset by his words. But he had still brought to his attention something that he didn't fully think about before. He couldn't recall if any of them thought of this before. If they had, he had completely forgotten about it, possibly because none of them thought it could be an important clue. There was a detail that they hadn't considered that just might answer their question to why this had happened.

All this time, they had kept asking themselves just why Rapsheeba, of all zoners, was attacked. They had tried to figure out the answer to this question repeatedly and couldn't think of anything. There had not been anything particularly different about Rapsheeba that would draw the attention of other zoners. Perhaps rivalry, but those zoners that attacked her didn't appear to be singers. So the reason had to be something else. And finally, Rudy believed he had stumbled upon what that something was. There indeed was something that separated Rapsheeba from the other zoners.

 _She had contact with her creator._

It did seem random. It did seem like it was irrelevant...that is, until Rudy realized just how rare it was for zoners to contact their creators. Okay so Rapsheeba did not actually talk to her creator, but she still had a connection to her. She knew where her creator was, she could visit her at any moment to see what she was up to... Not many zoners could make that claim.

Was this the reason those zoners had gone after her? Rudy would have dismissed the idea as stupid if he did not remember, thanks to Skrawl and Craniac, he knew full well that creations didn't always have the best relationship with their creators. Sometimes, shit just goes down and such zoners shouldn't be expected to get along well with humans.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this just might be the answer they were looking for. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he tried to dismiss it or think of something else, he just couldn't think of anything else that would make sense. This particular detail of Rapsheeba separated her from the other zoners. It made her stand out. It made her different. And it ultimately made her target of these stick figure zoners.

But... just why? What was the exact reasoning for this? Were those zoners targeting Rapsheeba because of distrust? Were they jealous? Or was there something more at work there? Was there something that he was missing? A piece of the puzzle that was alluding him somehow? If he could just think of the answer to that, he might be able to figure out where to go to from here. If only his mind didn't keep drawing a blank...

"Rudy!" Snap suddenly shouted at him, causing him to jump up quickly. "Please answer us!"

Rudy shook his head, spluttering, his heart racing, as he looked over to see Penny and Snap staring at him with wide eyes. Rudy looked at them long and hard for a few seconds, soon realizing that he had inadvertently ignored them for several minutes. He felt his stomach twisting in guilt as he smiled at them nervously. "I'm sorry, you guys. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Geeze, Rudy... The next time you want to have a daydream, please warn us, okay?" Snap put his hands on his hips. Despite his glaring, Rudy could tell he was just really worried.

Penny spoke up before Snap could say anything else. "I saw that look in your eyes, Rudy. Do you have an idea of what had gone on?" Rudy looked over at her. He stared at her in the eyes. He tried to speak, but he could not make any noise come out of his mouth. Penny narrowed her eyes at this. "I knew it. Okay Rudy. Tell us. What thought did you have?"

Curious by this, Snap looked at Rudy's face as well. The artist boy wasn't able to keep a straight face and he ended up ratting himself out quite quickly. "We're all ears, Bucko."

Rudy gritted his teeth. He turned his head away from them as he tried to think of just how he was going to respond to this. He honestly hadn't really thought of how he was going to tell them this stuff. He wasn't even sure himself if it made complete sense or not. And he didn't know just how they would react to it. Especially Snap. After all, he was a zoner himself. How would he feel about the suggestion that having a connection with creators may have caused Rapsheeba's attack?

Then again, he was probably being a little silly. Perhaps he shouldn't worry too much. They needed as much information as they could to solve this and he knew fully well that if he hid this from them... He let out a small sigh, shaking his head a little as he tilted it upwards. Before he confused himself further, he pressed on, forcing an answer out of his partially open mouth.

"I...I think I have an idea of why Rapsheeba was targeted..."

Penny and Snap remained silent, holding their breaths inside of their mouths. They watched Rudy carefully, awaiting a response from him. They stayed like this for several moments, not daring to try to interrupt Rudy as he adjusted himself, preparing to inform them of what he had guessed was going on.

"What is the one thing that separates Rapsheeba from most zoners?" Rudy saw their confused expressions. He elaborated a bit. "What kind of claim can she make that most zoners cannot? What can she do that most zoners can't do?"

"I-I'm not sure.." Snap shrugged his shoulders. "Sing really well?"

Penny added in, "Perhaps make the best dresses?"

"Know how to style herself?"

"Have _thousands_ of followers?"

"Or perhaps..."

"No!" Rudy spoke up, motioning his hands rigidly. "You're not getting it... I don't mean..." Rudy clutched the sides of his head, pushing his fingernails into his scalp. He didn't mean to sound so upset. But he still wished that these two would... How could they not... He forced himself to exhale, reminding himself that they had all treated Rapsheeba's 'interactions' with her creator casually after they got used to it. So of course it wouldn't pop into their heads right away. He just needed to help them remember. "Snap, what do you and Rapsheeba have in common?"

Snap grinned at this, striking a pose. "We're both _fabulous_ creations?"

Penny giggled at this. "I don't think that's what he meant, Snap."

"Yeah, I know. I couldn't help it." Snap shrugged his shoulders, giving a small smile at this. Rudy didn't say anything; he would rather see Snap smiling than his grouchy attitude from a little while ago. "Well...in common... _hmm_..." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if I..."

"Wait! I know!" Penny suddenly spoke up. "You both have some kind of... _thing_... with your creator!"

Snap's eyes widened at this. "Oh yeah, that's right..!" He paused and shuddered for a moment before looking up at Penny and Rudy. "...you think those guys are upset about something like that?"

Rudy nodded his head sadly. "You and I both know that not all zoners are...very liking towards creators." He frowned, looking away once more. "We all know how Skrawl and Craniac ended up like. Me being their creator has done little to stop them from trying to destroy me." Okay so he was not the only creator of Skrawl. That didn't change this particular thought process. It still didn't change that this creator thing still stood.

And if that's the case, if that is why the zoners attacked at all...

"If what you say is true, Rudy..." Penny whispered, appearing to understand what he was thinking of. "Then we just might be able to apprehend one of them if we wait for another attack. We can use this information to help guide us to the next potential target." Penny raised her finger up slowly. "We just need to figure out who the next zoner to be attacked would be."

"It would have to be someone who is in contact with their creator." Rudy commented as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Someone who knows where their creator is, someone who can communicate with their creator or spend any sort of time with them. Someone like..." His voice trailed off as he tried to think of an answer.

"Bucko..." Snap whispered under his breath. Rudy looked down at him, curious as to what he had to say. Snap looked up at him, his eyes wide in realization. "Outside of Rapsheeba's creator, the only one that I can think of who has any sort of contact with their creations, knowingly or not, is..." Slowly, Snap motioned his hand towards Rudy. "You."

At this, Rudy and Penny stared at each other in shock, their eyes going wide. They realized in that moment that Snap was indeed correct. They could be wrong of course, but as it stood, the only creator in the area at the time who has any kind of contact with their creations was...Rudy. He was the one who would come into ChalkZone and help out people here. He was the one who interacted with his creations quite a bit. And if anything, he had a deeper connection with his creations than Rapsheeba did with her creator.

Could this all be connected? Could this all be pointing them in the same direction? Could this mean that... Rudy felt his eyes widen in realization. Everything seemed to click into place. It just made too much sense.

And that wasn't all. Something else washed over his head, making his body chill up.

If these zoners were going after zoners with contact with their creators, if these zoners somehow had something against creators, then... Wouldn't this mean that...

"Rudy? What's wrong? You look so..." Snap spoke to him softly, his eyes furrowed with concern. "Please, say something..."

Rudy looked at Snap and he could feel more feelings of horror and dread washing up and down through his spine. He couldn't stop looking at Snap, couldn't stop staring right in his white eyes. He struggled to breathe, struggled to keep himself calm. But he had trouble just catching his breath, his heart pounding in his chest.

Oh gawd no.. Please... This couldn't be true... This can't be right... There was no way that... But deep down, he knew that it was the only thing that made sense. The connection was just too uncanny. And it filled too many loopholes. And if he was right about motivations, then...

There was no way around it. He fit the bill too perfectly. This blue zoner standing before him, he hung out with him too often, talked to him way too much, hung out with him every time that he was in ChalkZone. If those zoners hated creators, and if they found it in their black 'hearts' to attack Rapsheeba for only just indirectly interacting with her creator, then Snap would...

 _Oh no..._

"Snap, I..." Rudy started to speak. "I think you're next..."

Penny and Snap fell silent, staring at Rudy in horror.

sss

Skrawl released a small sigh as he leaned himself against the wall. He had managed to find a room to go into and be alone for a little while. Because, well, he needed some time to think about this. He needed to think whether or not he felt that this was a good idea in the end. He liked the potential, but he wasn't sure about how this was going about it.

He had wanted to be the leader. He wanted to remain in that position of power. He felt that things would go smoothly if he were in charge. He always thought his plans through, trying to fill up as much holes as possible, and going through with them and they usually worked out.

Well, almost. He had to remind himself that things didn't always pan out well for him. His best plan had always been his first one. That was the one that came the closest to working. That was when nobody knew just how far he could go, how smart he was. He had botched that up when he had underestimated Rudy and he realized that he should have at least maimed the boy or something. He had never gotten that good again and everything else... He realized how quickly they had fallen apart.

His Brain plan didn't work because he failed to consider how he could control someone more powerful than him. He thought Brain would be like his Beanie Boys and always be loyal to him. He had been wrong and he found that out the hard way. His plan to turn Penny against Rudy could have worked if he had tried harder, or if he had predicted that Penny would have tricked him like that. And though his plan with Craniac did get pretty close, in fact almost so as his first plan, it still fell short because he and Craniac were too prone to argue with each other. Had they just remained focused, they probably could have succeeded.

Of all those plans, he regarded his Brain one as the biggest failure, his biggest humiliation. He thought about it over and over again and he was always repeatedly reminded of just how much it had sucked. What made it especially horrible was the fact that he had managed to take over ChalkZone. In a way. He did put so many zoners under his spell. He was in control. He could have done whatever he wanted. He should have forced Rudy to fight the zoners or something. Or put Rudy under his spell, too.

But of course, Brain had turned against him once she had seen how strong Rudy was. If Skrawl had Brain hypnotize Rudy right away, he could have prevented her from seeing his strength and she would still be at his side, wanting to please him. Skrawl couldn't believe that he didn't see these things going down and he couldn't believe that he...

And the fact that he needed Rudy's help... That was probably the biggest blow of all.

He had prided himself in getting away from the boy. Making a dramatic exit and preventing him from laying a hand on him. Even when his schemes went down the drain, he knew of how to get away before Rudy could capture him. But in that case with Brain, he was forced to rely on him. Skrawl had no choice but to follow Rudy's lead to clean up his own mess. Skrawl had built Brain from the ground up and he needed some fucking artist boy to help him get away from his own creation.

He snorted heavily, giving a few weak chuckles. It was often disheartening for him to hear about how he had failed in the past. It was practically demoralizing to remind himself of that slip up, his misjudgments, his need of asking someone else to help him... He didn't mind it with Craniac as they shared a common goal. But Rudy? His mortal enemy? How could he have stooped so low...?

Perhaps it really was his fault. To an extent. As much as this hurt him to think about, he did start to really think that perhaps he really was the one to blame for this to some degree. He had already acknowledged that some of these plans could have worked if he had done something different. Wasn't that a way of accepting guilt? Of accepting the fact that he was the one who had messed up? He growled lowly, trying to push the thought out of his head. But they kept coming back, kept reminding him of what was true. And there was no way around it.

He knew in the end that it was true. He had to swallow his pride and accept the fact that he had not exactly helped his plans succeed in the past with these misjudgments. He really had been a little too prideful and though it'll be hard, if he could tone it down a little, he just might be able to get some sort of victory out of this.

And there was a plus side to that. If he allowed another zoner take over, then he didn't need to worry about blaming himself. The leader would be at fault. If things fell apart, he could blame Pascal for what happened. He could go up to that zoner and tell them just how much their plan sucked and Skrawl would be free of any guilt or frustration.

Skrawl smiled at this, his mouth corners pressing up against his facial muscles. He released a few chuckles at this. Yes, that's exactly what he could do. Suddenly, letting someone else 'take the reigns' didn't seem so bad. Perhaps just this once, he could do that. Then he could go back to leading the Beanie Boys.

Speaking of them, should he go back to them and get them to join? He wasn't sure if Pascal wanted them to help or not. But then, why would they not? His Beanie Boys could be useful for... _Wait_ , just what did Pascal want to do? Something about helping revenge yes, but that zoner had to have another plan hidden under their sleeve. There was something that they wanted. Skrawl understood how the villain's mind worked, as he was one of them. And often this sort of thing didn't occur without some kind of price to be paid. Perhaps he should figure it out and...

No, he doubted Pascal would tell him anything. It would be better if he just remained silent on the whole thing and just watched him carefully. He would have some idea of what was going on if he watched them carefully enough. Pascal would screw up eventually and Skrawl would understand exactly what he was after. And depending on what it was, he may just use this as a means of getting his own revenge. Perhaps Pascal was onto something.

But for now, he would remain silent. He would be 'loyal' to this Pascal until they were able to get him what he wanted, whether intentional or not. Once he was done with that, once Rudy and his friends were out of the way for good, he would leave Pascal. They would have no more use for him. And if Pascal behaves well enough, he might consider letting them live when he took over ChalkZone. Pascal would make a good advisor to him perhaps. It could work to...

He was not able to finish his thoughts as they were interrupted when he heard someone coming into the room. He hissed softly. He thought for sure that he would get a little bit of privacy. He growled as he looked over and heard the door being knocked on. At least they were showing him some level of respect.

"Come on in." Skrawl said softly. He kept his voice low, his eyes narrowed. He wanted the intruder to know just what they were walking in on. "What did you want from me? Came here to talk?"

No answer. The door just creaked open slowly. Skrawl watched intently, his eyes shifting around, noting the appearance of a shadow moving along the ground. The shape alone told him that it was one of the stick figure zoners coming in to speak with him. Skrawl wasn't sure why they would want to. Not like he had any use for the stick figures outside of... Well whatever the heck Pascal wanted them for. Skrawl scoffed softly. Just what good were such generic zoners going to be?

The zoner that popped inside did look a little familiar. Skrawl looked at him up and down, studying them in silence. He couldn't quite remember where, but... Yeah, he must have seen him somewhere. Perhaps in the crowd and he just didn't really think about it.

If he recalled right, this particular stick figure was higher up on the 'food chain' of sorts. He had some kind of powerful position among those stick figures. He guessed that he was their leader, or perhaps second-in-charge of the whole operation. Or even third. Well whatever; the details weren't that important. All that Skrawl needed to know was that this stick figure zoner was not on par with most of that lot. So perhaps he should exercise some caution. He wasn't interested in having a bunch of stick figures kicking his shins.

"Skrawl, I presume...?" The stick figure motioned his hand towards him slowly.

Skrawl hissed, "Yes...?"

"My apologies. I never formally met you. The reverse is true I'm sure." The stick figure gave a small smile. Not a big genuine one, but more one that a person would make when nervous. Skrawl felt some pleasure towards this. Perhaps this zoner understood how dangerous he could be after all. "My name is Jax. I am the leader of that stick figure group you saw earlier."

Ah...so he was the leader. That would make sense. His guess had been correct. Perhaps he could get more information out of this stick figure. Maybe not much, but at least...something. He put his hands on his hips, tilting his head to one side slowly. "So why did you come in here? What did you want to speak to me about?"

Jax rubbed the back of his head slowly, his head turned to one side. "Well this whole thing is a bit awkward, don't you think? Heheheh.. We have never met before and yet here we are, allied with one another. And all because of that one zoner you have met. That Pascal fellow."

Skrawl nodded his head slowly. "Yes... Indeed, fate can be rather strange. And 'funny' at times. I mean, look at myself." He motioned to himself. "I'm not exactly the most deliberate of creations. Can you imagine how it was for me?"

"Yes, yes, I know." Jax motioned his hand from side to side for a few seconds. He then curled his fingers inward, pressing them against his palm. He looked around as though to make sure that no one was watching him. Then he looked at Skrawl in the eyes and he hissed lowly, "...how much do you trust Pascal?"

This question came out of nowhere. Skrawl nearly stumbled back when he heard it, staring at Jax in shock. He tried his best to hide this facial expression, but he had some difficulties in doing so. He could feel his mind reeling a little bit as he tried to comprehend what this could mean.

He had thought that Pascal had control over the stick figures to some degree. Had he been wrong? Were the stick figures also unsure about Pascal? Was this whole alliance thing not as solid as he thought? Skrawl could feel his head throbbing as he tried to clear his mind. He couldn't remember what his thoughts had been before. It was like he had two minds that were fighting with each other. Was this a side effect of his hurt pride regarding Rudy? If it was...

"I know it's such an odd thing to ask, considering we were with them before you." Jax commented. He took a moment to look around again. He must have been really paranoid in bringing this up. And the way that he looked at him after, Skrawl could see...something moving around behind those eyes of his. Some kind of emotion. "I am just not sure of this whole thing. I try to be positive with my comrades. They believe I am in this wholly, completely. But in reality, I am skeptical of this guy myself. I do not know how much Pascal can be trusted. They might have their own agenda."

"And..why are you talking to me about this?" Skrawl raised an eyebrow. "If you don't trust them, why don't you leave?"

"It's not as simple as that. I wish it were. But I had already pledged my loyalty to Pascal and if I remove it..." Jax looked down, gritting his teeth tightly. "I don't want to imagine what would happen if..." His voice trailed off. His silence was all that was needed to paint a complete picture of what he was feeling.

Skrawl stared down at him with narrowed eyes, his thoughts whirling around. It would seem that Jax was unsure of his decisions. He was realizing the position he had put himself in and now he... Was he turning to him for help? Was he attempting to use him as a shoulder to lean in, per say? Skrawl was not sure what to make of this at first. But he soon realized, as a thought clicked into his head, he could use this to his advantage. He could use this to ensure that he had something to fall back on himself.

He wasn't going to let this slip out of his claws. He was not going to let this opportunity leave him. He would ensure that he was able to secure some kind of spot here. Despite his thoughts before of letting Pascal be in charge, that was only one position of power, the position that he could use to blame them if something went wrong. But he still didn't mind being in control of some other things. And if he had the stick figure zoners loyal to him first, but in secret...

He tried not to let himself smile too twistedly. He did not want Jax to be onto him as well. He did not want to screw this up. _If these stick figure zoners were as useful as his Beanie Boys..._

"I know how you feel. I'm not sure if this myself." Skrawl said as he tried to sound as sympathetic as possible. He moved i closer to Jax, making a few motions with his clawed hand. He did his best to make himself look as approachable as he could. "But I'm sure that we could help each other out. I mean, I'm more than willing to give some aid if you are in need of some of it." He let his smile broaden a little, just enough to look serious but still have an amiable atmosphere to it. "What do you say?"

Despite their words from before it was clear that this zoner still didn't really know for sure. He turned his head from side to side slowly, struggling to say something. There was a sort of creaking in his voice as he kept trying to form words. He constantly failed, stuttering over his own tongue, to the point where Skrawl almost legitimately thought he had lost his ability to speak.

Finally, the zoner did speak. "Well I... I am not sure... I mean.. I suppose we..." The stick figure rubbed his hands together. He looked at Skrawl with one eye. "I know that I had come here for this, but I'm still not one hundred percent..." He stopped himself as he straightened up, regarding the zoner before him carefully. "Would you be able to help us with our problem...? Would you be true to your word?"

Skrawl tilted his head to one side. "Can I trust you to do the same?"

There was a bit of silence between the two. Awkward, but expected. Skrawl would not have thought anything less of this moment. They had both made it clear to the other that they do not completely trust each other. They had just met and it was clear they both had their own agendas. Such a thing didn't happen between Skrawl and Craniac as they were too eager to succeed with their plan; they never stopped to really think of what the other wanted or if the other was truly trustworthy in the end.

Skrawl was glad that he and Jax were having this moment. In this way, they could fully understand where the other stood. They could fully understand what the other wanted, and put in perspective what this could mean. And if they could acknowledge this distrust of one another, they could find a way to make this work. Even if they did turn on each other in the end, it would only be after they succeeded in what they wanted. In the end, they would both win.

Or at least, Skrawl would win. The jellybean zoner was not interested in knowing if Jax got what he wanted. But he was interested in what Jax had to offer. And he was interested in ensuring that his plan would work.

And so, not wanting to let the silence go on for much longer, Skrawl took a few steps forward, making another smooth, slow gesture with his hand. "I see we both have similar goals. I see that we both have something that we want, and we are not completely sure how to get it. Well how about I strike you a deal then?" Skrawl motioned his hand towards Jax. "If you and I help each other, I promise I will try nothing until we get what we want. The same must be said about you before this will work." Skrawl narrowed his eyes slightly. "Do you agree?"

Jax seemed a little hesitant at first. He looked down at Skrawl's hand, then looked at his own. He flexed his fingers for a bit. Then, slowly, hesitantly, he reached out and he took Skrawl's hand. He shook it up and down slowly, gritting his teeth.

"S-Sure... I agree..." Jax managed to say, his voice a little shaken. It was clear that he did not know if he liked what he had gotten himself into. "I mean...you do know what it's like to..." The his grip on Skrawl's hand tightened as though he had gained a slew of confidence. " _Yes_... I will have pleasure pleasure doing business with you." His face broke out into a small smile.

Skrawl could not help but smile in return, smirking. "I am glad to hear that. I think you will not regret working with me..."

sss

"Good morning!" Rapsheeba called out as she watched Zibble and Blotz coming into the dining room. She could tell that they had just woken up. They both looked really tired. She wondered if they ended up staying up later than they were supposed to. She decided not to scold them on this and she pressed on, "Come on, breakfast is almost done."

Rapsheeba stood in front of the stove. One of her arms gripped the skillet's handle tightly, moving it back and forth on the metal rings that were heating it up. Her other hand was wrapped around the spatula as she moved the scrambled eggs about, their scent filling her nostrils. She could feel herself start to drool in anticipation. A smile cracked along her face.

The other plates had already been filled. Indeed, next to her, two plates already had the bacon and eggs on them and the two glasses were already filled with orange juice. It was just a matter of getting this finished and then they were all set. She worked her arm back and forth quickly, wanting to get this last one finished before the food got too cold. She didn't want to serve the two children a lukewarm breakfast.

She could hear the sound of the chairs sliding out, skidding along the ground. She turned her head and she could see them sitting down slowly. It took her a few seconds before she noticed something was off. They didn't look as..energetic as usual. She could tell something was on their mind, but she couldn't tell just what that was.

Though concerned, she decided it was best not to question it right now. She guessed that they just had a bad dream or something, and in that case, she thought it was best to let them come to her to speak about it when they felt like the time was right. She didn't want to force it out of them. She knew that such a thing could make things worse, and the last thing she wanted to do was make them too uncomfortable. She didn't want them to be upset with her. So she remained silent and continued to cook the food.

It didn't take much longer which she was grateful for. She poured the scrambled eggs onto the plate and turned off the stove. Gathering up the plates skillfully on her arms, she moved towards the table and set the plates down, one for both children and one for herself. She went over to get the juice cups and she got herself settled on the table. She pulled herself in and, without saying a word, she began to eat.

While she ate, she watched Zibble and Blotz carefully with an upwards glance, trying not to make it too obvious. She watched the two of them carefully, trying to get a good idea of what might be going on. She still bet that it was a bad dream of some sort. They did often have nightmares of when they were trapped in 'ghost' forms, where no one else would interact with them. They hadn't quite gotten over that, which she couldn't really blame them for. It was no wonder that the pair didn't know exactly how to interact with 'normal' zoners at first. They didn't get a chance to interact with one long enough to know.

Despite the fact that they had been out of that situation for a long time, it had still taken a while for them to get used to their new situation. Sometimes they even fell back onto old behaviors. They usually didn't know what they were doing until pointed out to them, and they would apologize.

And they were still secretive at times. Rapsheeba wasn't surprised by this. These two had been each other's only company for a while. So it was only natural that, sometimes, they just preferred to keep secrets amongst each other. Rapsheeba had figured out some of them, but never spoke up about it. They were harmless secrets anyway that were not worth mentioning. Could they be hiding something bigger? Perhaps, but again she related it to them just being worried regarding their old life. Perhaps they were worried about going back to that life again.

Was this that same situation? She could feel her heart tighten at the possibility. These two were so emotionally scarred from that and... She gritted her teeth lightly. She had to struggle with the urge not to just rush over and hold onto them. She learned the hard way in the past that this might accidentally trigger something with them. These two were still not used to people sympathizing with them, still not used to having people to talk to. She also did not want to sound like she was intruding or anything. She did her best to keep put.

But she was not sure just how long she could keep up this silence for. She had no idea how much more of this she could take. She tried to keep still, tried to keep her mouth clinched shut except for when she was eating her food. But in the end, she knew it was going to be hard to keep fully silent forever. Her concern for these two was just too great and she really wanted to be there to help them out.

The remainder of breakfast continued on a bit...awkwardly. That was the only word that she could use to describe it. Awkward. They kept looking at each other, not saying anything. Rapsheeba felt that she may have accidentally given too much of a hint to them that she knew what was going on. She noticed some flickering in their eyes as though they caught onto something, or knew something that they were being silent about. And it just resulted in slower eating, slower drinking, more staring.

Even when the final food was swallowed, they still couldn't speak or look away from one another. Rapsheeba knew now for certain that something was going on and now she had to wonder if it was actually related to them having a bad dream or not. She had seen them come out of bed after having a nasty dream and this was not how they would act. They would be more looking at each other and trying to comfort one another.

But now? It was different. Now they were looking at her more often than they intended. They kept trying to look away, but they didn't move quickly enough to stop her from seeing their facial expressions. She caught them quite easily and she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they were worried about her.

Rapsheeba slowly placed her fork down as she looked at them carefully. Her mouth pursed downward slightly and her eyes became somewhat narrowed. She tried not to let herself jump to conclusions too easily. She didn't want to assume that this was the case. And yet their eyes did not lie. She had never known these two to give deceptive expressions. If they looked at her this way, then they must really be worried.

And why would they be worried about her unless...

 _...unless they knew..._

Rapsheeba drew in a long, deep breath. She could feel her stomach sting a little, burning. _Oh gawd_ , was this what happened? _Did they know about...?_ But how...? She couldn't fathom a possibility. Not like Snap would have told them anything...would he? She shook the thought out of her head. Of course he would not. But then, who else could have...

Or perhaps it was no one. Maybe she was thinking about this all wrong. Maybe it was not a single person who said anything, but perhaps something else entirely. She tried to think, the back of her head aching, as she tried to solve this one final piece of the puzzle. There had to be an explanation there. There had to be something that she was missing.

And that's when it clicked in her head. When she had sent them to bed, could they have come back and listened? It was a very real possibility. Not really hard to come to a conclusion to. The stairs were high up and these two could be quiet when they wanted to be. And at times, they still disobeyed her orders. Was it any stretch of the imagination that they would have done something like this? In the end, she knew the answer to that.

"You know what happened, don't you?" Rapsheeba's voice finally cut through the air. The suddenness of it caused the two zoners to nearly jump. She could see their shocked expressions. "Yes, I know you listened in. Don't need to lie."

Zibble and Blotz looked at each other worriedly. They made a few facial expressions, mostly of worry, biting their lip. They glanced back at Rapsheeba multiple time, giving her various nervous expressions. They then crouched their heads down a little lower as though they were in trouble.

"W-We're sorry. We didn't mean to..." Zibble's voice was slightly high pitched. "But.. We just... _How could_ you have kept _that_ from us?!" Zibble motioned her fingers and hands upwards, grabbing onto air tightly. "I thought you trusted us by now!"

Rapsheeba looked at Zibble sadly. Sighing, she said, "It was not about trust. I just...did not want you guys to worry. You both are still..." She paused for a moment as she tried to think of a good way to say this. She managed to force herself to say, "You're still recovering. I did not want to add anything else on top of that." She rubbed the back of her head as Blotz grabbed onto Zibble in an effort to comfort her. "But yeah.. Maybe I should have..."

"No, we understand. Just please...don't be upset with us. We're sorry that we listened without permission." Blotz asked. He kept his voice low and soft, his teeth slightly bared. "We were just worried, that's all. We didn't want..I-I mean..." Blotz looked left and right as though struggling to figure out what he wanted to say. He eventually looked up at Rapsheeba with a defeated look. "We're so sorry..."

Rapsheeba stared at the two long and hard for a few seconds. She then forced herself to exhale. She forced a small smile to spread on at least part of her face. She released a small chuckle as she leaned closer towards the two children. "I couldn't stay mad at you two. It's all right." She reached out towards them. She could not touch them, but she did make the symbolic gesture of carefully patting the area in front of them. "I'm not really that angry."

"Y-You're not...?" Whispered Zibble.

"Even after we..." Blotz started to say. He could not finish his sentence.

Rapsheeba frowned slightly. "Well I am not happy that you two decided to eavesdrop. When I tell you to go to your rooms, you do so. Understand?" The two zoners nodded in silence. Rapsheeba's expression relaxed. "But still, I should have been more honest with you two. I should have told you what had went on." She looked away for a moment before she looked at them once more. She said, "How about this? I promise that I will not keep secrets from you two any more. Does that sound fair?"

Zibble and Blotz sniffled, wiped their faces, and nodded their heads. "Y-Yes... That..sounds good." Blotz was the one to respond, his voice slightly cracking. It was as though he was hiding so much emotion behind his face, like he wanted to be strong for Rapsheeba. "Th-Thank you. I..."

"But under one condition." Rapsheeba narrowed her eyes once more, but a smile stretched at her lips. "I want you two promise that if I tell you to go to sleep, you will do so. No more of this sneaking around, okay?" She waggled her finger a little, raising an eyebrow. "Do you _understand_ me?"

One by one, the two child zoners nodded. Rapsheeba's gentle smile returned, bigger than it had been before. To show the two that she was not upset anymore, to show them that they could start to move on from this, she got up from her sitting position, walked over towards them, and put her arms around them. She held onto them gently, pulling them into a hug. She could feel them hugging her back, trembling, still obviously worried about this whole mess.

"It's okay.." Rapsheeba cooed to them. "Everything will be all right. I promise."

Of course, she had no idea how much of that was true. She did not know if she could keep this promise or not. But she would try her best. That was all that she could do.


	9. A City At Risk

Skrawl couldn't help but smirk. He felt a sense of pride rising up inside of his stomach as he thought about his latest accomplishment. He had been able to convince Jax to strike a deal with him. Now he had that zoner's support, at least for the time being, and he had someone to lean back on in case things start to go wrong. Having an ally in all of this was important, especially if trust was an issue.

They didn't know just how trustworthy Pascal was in the end. Maybe they might turn out to be quite reliable. Or maybe they are just playing all of these zoners for fiddles. It was difficult to say. So having numbers on their side was important. True they did not know entirely what to make of one another, but still, what they did, what he suggested, was better than the alternative. What good would they do if they were all spending so much time staring each other down with uncertainty?

Not to mention, he was able to come up with a solution that, he hoped, would ensure that Jax knows to remain loyal to him first and to not betray him to Jax. It was not just a simple handshake; he had told Jax that he would not hesitate to 'borrow' a few of his fellow stick figure zoners if he stepped out of line. It did not even have to be anybody who was from this particular group; he could just go to ChalkZone City and grab somebody there. The city wasn't that far. It wouldn't take too long for him to grab somebody.

The only thing left to do was to figure out what he was going to do regarding Craniac and the futuristic zoners. He had not yet gained their loyalty promise. He would need to ensure that he did that. There were a lot more of these zoners than the stick figures. But if he wanted to gain their commitment to him, he realized immediately what this most likely meant.

He would need to talk to Craniac again.

The thought of that made him growl lowly, turning his head from one side to the other. He could feel himself shudder at the mere thought of having to deal with that stupid robot zoner. His last chat with him did not go entirely as he would have liked and... He couldn't even remember exactly what Craniac had told him, no matter how hard that he ground up his teeth. How frustrating...

He shook the thought out of his head. He understood that he was taking this a little too seriously. He would figure something out with the futuristic zoners. He would figure out a way to make Craniac ensure that they were loyal to him first, not to Pascal. He needed to ensure that they were all in this together. Or rather, in this with him. Such a thing would not be easy; surely Craniac would prefer them to be loyal to himself first and not to him. Skrawl knew just how hard it was going to be to convince Craniac to see things his way. But... it wouldn't be impossible. He just needed to...

He stopped himself when he lifted up his head to stare over at the zoner coming towards him. He felt grateful that Pascal was not able to read minds. That would be rather disturbing. Even Skrawl wouldn't want that kind of power. After briefly shuddering, he motioned his hand out towards Pascal, giving a slight gesture. He smiled the best that he could, in spire of the inner emotions that he was feeling.

"Greetings, Pascal. Is there anything that you need?" Skrawl tried to be polite. He could catch himself squeaking a little, but it was still better than nothing.

Pascal looked over at him, looking slightly surprised. Perhaps they did not see him there? "Oh hello, Skrawl. I am just heading down to take care of a few things. I should be good." They paused for a moment, looking at Skrawl up and down. "Why? Did you want _something_ from me?"

Skrawl shook his head. "No... No, not really. I just..."

He went silent for a moment as he tried to think of a response. He bit his lip firmly. He could feel his muscles burning, his stomach heating up slightly. Frustration was rapidly spreading throughout his body and he found it difficult to control. He was not sure how much longer he could remain fully silent on this. He felt the need to just... He couldn't stay silent any longer. He needed to ask for more information. He needed to know what the hell was going on here. Pascal couldn't just keep hiding this information from him. Not for any longer.

"Just...what is it you want to do? You haven't said much about that." Skrawl finally said. He tried to sound firm but not too firm. He didn't want to sound like he was challenging them, despite the fact that he really did want to do that. "Are you ready yet to tell me? Or are you going to keep being mysterious about this whole thing?" He made a few gestures with his fingers when he said this. " _Enough games_ , Pascal." He put his hands on his hips. "I want answers, and I want them now."

Pascal watched him in silence. They raised their eyebrow up, something of a smirk spreading upwards along their face. It was a look that made Skrawl shudder a little, but he still remained where he stood, trying not to let himself get too unnerved by this. "Oh, so you want answers, do you?" Pascal finally said. "And I suppose you are going to try to make me tell you?"

Skrawl did not answer that question. He knew it was a trap. He knew that this zoner was just trying to lure him in to do something stupid. He had to hold his tongue the best that he could to ensure that he did not slip up. He was not about to fall for that. That was the sort of trap that he himself would try to pull on someone. Pascal was going to have to try harder than that.

Pascal let out a small chortle as they looked away to the side. "I see... Then perhaps I should tell you..." They looked over at Skrawl, regarding him with one of their eyes. "It is only fair... I may also inform Craniac of..."

"Just tell me." Skrawl was quick to interrupt. This caused Pascal to lean away to one said and stare with one raised eyebrow. "I-I mean..." Skrawl thought quickly on his feet. "Craniac is a bit too eager sometimes, you know? He might do something to screw things up." He made a few gestures with his hands, fumbling his fingers together. "Whereas I would..." He stopped for a moment, then continued, "I wouldn't do that."

Pascal slowly folded their arms against one another. "And you are absolutely sure I can trust you with this stuff? How do I know that you won't try anything?" Pascal pointed one of their fingers over at Skrawl, the motion causing his suit to move and sway slightly. "Give me one good reason why I should trust you with this information."

Skrawl wasn't sure what to say. He realized in that moment that he really didn't have any proof. He didn't have anything that he could say to show this zoner that he wasn't going to use the information for his own selfish reasons. Because, well, that's likely what he would end up doing anyway. Eventually he gave up and he let out a sigh. He shrugged his shoulders. That was all he could bring himself to do.

More silence followed. He could feel the zoner's eyes on him, regarding him quietly. He could feel them judging him, as though he were standing on trial for something. And all he could do was just keep remaining quiet and hope that he hadn't accidentally slipped up.

Skrawl mentally scolded himself as he realized that this could have all gone so horribly wrong. He realized just how easily something could have slipped up and he could have ended up getting himself into trouble. It was this darn guilt of his. He knew he was beating against a broken drum at this point. He had repeated this over and over in his head to the point where it was hurting his mind. But he couldn't stop thinking about it. He couldn't stop forgetting the fact that he...well, he did screw things up for himself. If only he could just stop letting this darn emotion control him, he'd...

"I see you're still fighting with yourself." Pascal's cool voice came, cutting through the silence and startling Skrawl. The jellybean zoner stared over at them, seeing the look in their eyes. "I can understand. Things can be pretty rough when you screw up. I know that feeling quite well. In fact..." They motioned their hand to their chest. "That is the real reason I'm doing this. I want to get back something that's mine."

Skrawl straightened himself up, staring intently. Now they were finally getting somewhere.

Pascal continued, "I had...messed up a few years ago. I... I don't really want to talk about it right now." They rubbed the back of their head nervously, their teeth gritting tightly against each other. "But I'm sure you could relate to some degree. You make one mistake and nobody lets you live it down. Not even yourself."

Skrawl flinched as he recalled his incident with Rudy helping him. He rubbed his head carefully as he shook it slowly. "Yeah... You can say that again." He continued to rub his head for a few seconds before he forced himself to stop and stare down at the zoner before him. "So what exactly do you plan on doing about it?"

"Well first of all, I want to stop being too aggressive. I can't blame these stick figure zoners for what happened. I admit, my... entrance to them was a little too harsh." Pascal's voice had such a weird tone to it. Skrawl was not able to tell if they were being sincere with this statement or not. But he remained silent anyway, wanting to keep listening to what this zoner was saying. "Anyway, I do have something planned that would help me out. Something that would change everything..."

Skrawl took a few steps closer. He knew that he was running a risk with what he was about to do next. He realized that if he wasn't careful, he might end up slipping up and cause the zoner to turn against him once more. But he knew he had to say something now, while Pascal was still a little worked up, and hope and pray that it would give him the results that he wanted.

He gave it a shot.

"What exactly _is_ your plan?" Skrawl kept his voice low, almost submissive. Even his body posture was a bit subdued when he said that. He motioned his hand out slowly towards Pascal and managed to keep himself from looking too threatening.

Pascal seemed to hesitate for a few moments, as though unsure of what to say. They looked at the ground, and then from side to side. There were several emotions going along their face, their expressions changing briefly each time. Skrawl kept quiet and waited to see if he could notice any particular expressions, anything in that revealed...something. It was all going too fast, however, and he wasn't able to pin down anything.

Well nothing, except some uncertainty. But that's what he was feeling as well. This was...quite the weird situation. But in the end, it did not seem like Pascal was opposed this time around.

Indeed, if anything, Pascal looked more...receptive, if that was the right terminology. They were regarding Skrawl with a different expression than before. Perhaps more of relief? It was hard to say. But he could tell that Pascal did look as though they really did want to tell someone about what happened, or what they wanted. There was something building up inside of them, and it was clear that they were not going to be able to hold out for much longer.

Skrawl said, "Look, if you want to tell me something, go ahead. Trust me, keeping this in won't do you any good." Skrawl almost chuckled when he said that. Such a thing would be a ridiculous statement someone trying to talk him down would say. But this line had its uses. "I promise I will not leak a word of this to anyone."

Pascal turned their head to one side slowly, cocking an eyebrow. "You are...absolutely sure...?" They stared at Skrawl carefully, taking in slow, deep breaths. Skrawl nodded his head, trying to look as welcoming as he could. "You will not let this leak? I mean... I will eventually tell them, of course. I'm just not ready yet. You won't speak a word of this?"

Skrawl shook his head. "Nope. You have my word."

Pascal stared at him for several moments silently, breathing in and out slowly, almost shakingly. Then eventually, Pascal reached their hand out towards him. They stretched out their hand their fingers spreading a little. "Give me your hand."

Skrawl blinked his eyes a few times at this. He thought of asking just what they were doing, but he held himself back. Carefully and cautiously, he motioned his hand forward, and soon his hand touched the stick figure zoner's own. They stayed like this for a few seconds before Skrawl finally asked, "Okay...so what are you..."

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain shooting through his hand. He widened his eyes when he saw that Pascal had pressed something sharp against his palm. Skrawl yanked back his hand quickly and stared at his palm, seeing the blood dripping from it. He took in a few shuddered breaths before he glared down at Pascal, baring his teeth.

"What the fuck was _that_ for?!" Skrawl cried out. "Are you trying to..."

"...ensure that you remain truthful? Yes." Pascal nodded their head. "Pardon me, but I figured that a blood pact would ensure that you do not try to stray away from your words. But not just any blood pact. This knife you see here?" They held up the small black knife that they had used to cut the skin of Skrawl's palm. "This is a binding knife. And when I cut it into my hand..."

Skrawl watched as Pascal sliced their own hand with the knife. Then, seconds later, Skrawl felt a tingling in his palm. He gritted his teeth and rubbed his hand, trying to get rid of the sensation. But it only seemed to grow stronger.

"I see you've noticed the results." A small smirk spread along Pascal's face. "Good. That will ensure that you don't try anything stupid. We are now bonded, you and I. If I feel pain, so do you."

Skrawl stared at Pascal long and hard as he let this information sink into his head. He felt his jaw drop, his eyes going wide. He struggled to keep his breathing regular. Had he... Had he just been duped by this zoner? Did they just...

Gritting his teeth, Skrawl rushed over at Pascal. He grabbed them by the throat and pushed them against the wall. He kept them elevated there, pressed there firmly so that they could not get away. Pascal dropped the knife and grabbed onto his arm, but did not do anything to struggle. That smug smile remained on their face as Skrawl continued to glare at them.

"What the fuck did you do?! That wasn't part of the deal!" Skrawl shouted, uncaring if he drew attention at this point. "How dare you use me like a..."

"But it was necessary. I needed to be sure." Pascal spoke up, cutting Skrawl off. "And why are you worried? It's only temporary."

Skrawl narrowed his eyes. "For how long...?"

Pascal leaned their head to the side, pondering an answer. "Oh.. I'd say about five months..."

Skrawl raised his voice. " _What?! A month?!_ " He tightened his grip, pressing his claws against the zoner's flesh. "You little...!" He immediately stopped when he felt something sharp pricking his own flesh. He staggered back, rubbing that spot lightly. "Geezus..."

"I would be careful if I were you." Pascal cooed to him. "You don't want to end up hurting yourself. Remember, we are bonded."

Skrawl raised his lip up at them, snarling at them angrily. "Yeah, yeah... whatever..." He snorted a little before releasing a small sigh. He finally took a moment to look around, making sure that they were still alone. He could feel some energy dripping from his fingertips as he realized there was no more point in fighting against Pascal right now. Especially when there was something else that he wanted to talk about instead. "So... about that plan of yours..."

"Oh yes, indeed..." Pascal nodded their head. "Well now that you are bonded to me, I suppose I can show you." They paused. "Or at least, a little bit of information. I think you do deserve to know a bit more of what I want, and why I am doing this."

Skrawl nodded slowly. "Yes, I would hope that you would tell me."

"Come along, then." Pascal motioned with their hand. "Follow me. Let's go somewhere quiet and private."

With that, Skrawl and Pascal made their way down the hallway. They moved at a brisk pace. Yet somehow, they managed to remain silent, quiet and just moving along almost as though on their toes. None of them said anything as they walked down to wherever Pascal decided to choose. Hopefully, it wouldn't take them long to get there.

Although Skrawl really had no clue whether or not they would get there quickly. He could feel his gut twisting up inside and he couldn't help but feel increasingly excited, almost to the point where he was going to grab Pascal by the neck and make them talk. He only stopped when he recalled that damn spell. He felt his hand gripping tightly and he nearly drew blood from his own palm. But he managed to calm himself down quickly. He reminded himself repeatedly that, in the end, this would all pay off.

Indeed, Pascal would have to be honest with him now. They might have believed that they gained the upper hand with what they did. But really, all they did was make the whole thing double sided. Sure, they could strike him down by attacking themself, but so could Skrawl. With a slash along his chest, he would do the same to Pascal. Skrawl tried not to smirk at this realization of the advantage that he had. This was going to be rather interesting.

The two of them continued their way down. Skrawl wondered if they were wandering a bit too far. How long was it going to take to reach their destination anyway? He couldn't really fathom any reason to keep going on like this. Weren't they in enough privacy as it was? Could Pascal really be this paranoid?

Then again, considering the fact that they did have, as they described, a 'rocky beginning' with the stick figure zoners, perhaps he shouldn't be surprised. Perhaps it was smart of Pascal to keep being a little cautious like this. Better safe than sorry, as the saying goes.

Skrawl's thoughts trailed off when he saw that they were finally, at last, reaching some place, a destination. He could see Pascal turning towards the door. They grabbed onto it, opening it up, and then motioned for him to come in with him. Skrawl hesitated for a few moments, and then, with his head nodding slowly in understanding, he went inside. Behind him, the door shut, allowing him and this zoner a little bit of privacy.

Skrawl took a moment to look around the room. It appeared to be almost warehouse-like. He wondered what Craniac did with this place. He could see boxes upon boxes everywhere. Some piles reached up so high that he almost mistook them for mountains. Seriously, just how high up were some of these going to go? It was quite incredible.

He guessed that these were areas where Craniac got rid of junk. Things that were broken and no longer worked. Or maybe there was another reason for this room. Eh, not like he was that interested. Right now, he had far more interest in what Pascal had to say. So after walking in deeper into the room, the jellybean zoner paused and shifted himself around, soon staring at the zoner intently.

With his arms folding slowly against his chest, he spoke, "Okay, are you now going to talk?"

Pascal looked around the room themself, as though they though someone had followed them in here. After a few moments, they clasped their hands together and said, "...Yes. I'll talk."

Skrawl gave a small smile at this. "Good, I'm glad to hear it. Now..." He narrowed his eyes slightly as he took a step forward. "Tell me what's going on here... What do you want? How did you get them to agree to work with you?"

"Who?"

"Why, the stick figures and the future zoners, of course!"

" _Ah_...those two groups. It was...quite easy." Pascal gave a slight smile. "I would imagine Craniac already told you about the future zoner thing, am I right?" Skrawl blinked at this. Pascal waved their hand dismissively. "I know you two have a history together. Didn't he tell you?"

Skrawl pondered this for a moment. He shifted his gaze down and scratched his head slowly. "Now that you mention it... yes, he did. Something about... I do think he hinted at some mistreatment of some kind. Discarding. But he didn't elaborate on it too deeply." Skrawl nodded his head. "But yes, I do think I got the idea." He paused and then tilted his head to one side. "Do you know more about this?"

"Indeed I do." Pascal stated, their voice growing slightly lower. "You see, the zoners of the future, as well as the stick figure army you have met, they both have something in common, same as you actually. You've all been forsaken by your creators in some shape or form."

At this, Skrawl could feel a rush of something going through him. A burning sensation. Something flicking in the back of his head as he felt the weight of realization strike him. Of course, how in the world hadn't he seen this before? He should have made the connection sooner. If only he hadn't let himself become too angry, he would have...

He cleared his throat and, trying to sound as calm as possible, he motioned his hand forward slowly. "Go on..."

Pascal nodded. "The zoners of the future are not happy to have been disregarded as just 'mistakes'. Their creators don't see them fit for anything. They were just...accidents. Mess ups. Not deserving. So they are tossed out like they were nothing." Pascal made a sweeping motion with their hand. "That's the way it rolls sometimes, right? With creators, they slip up or decide to redesign you, well you're just table scraps to them, right?"

Skrawl said, "Indeed..."

"The stick figures are in a similar boat. If anything, though, they have it worse. At least the future zoners usually have a purpose, even if something doesn't work out. I'm not trying to diminish their feelings. They have every right to be upset. I mean, I would be if I were created by someone with a plan, only to be discarded so harshly." Pascal motioned to themself. "But at least they are created with a purpose in mind. But what of the stick figure zoners?" Pascal raised their hand up in gesture. "They aren't created with a purpose. Not much of a good one, anyway."

"Of course not. Stick figures usually have pretty menial jobs and..." Skrawl's voice trailed off, his eyes widening slightly. "Oh, I see..."

"You get it, don't you? The stick figures are not happy with being treated like junk. Can you imagine what it feels like to be drawn that way, but another zoner by the same creator gets a more detailed look? Do you know how disparaging that is?" Pascal's eyes narrowed as they said this. They closed their hand into a tight fist. "Imagine the humiliation of having to be 'related' to that zoner. Imagine the jealousy, the hurt, the hatefulness that would follow." Pascal let out a sigh, their hand relaxing. "Can you imagine just what that would be like?"

Skrawl growled lowly, his eyes going downcast once more. "I know the feeling. Rudy never created me with a purpose. He let those damn kids draw most of me and let their thoughts get injected into my creation and..." He shook his head. He had to fight back the feelings of disgust that were swelling up inside of him. "To this day, I never did find out why he did that to me."

"And so you know the plight of the stick figure zoners. You know how they feel, being created with little more than bare bones. And even those are the lucky ones." Pascal tilted their head to one side, raising a curled lip to show their teeth. "There are those created with absolutely nothing in mind. Those zoners are blanks, left here to figure themselves out. Imagine what they go through."

Skrawl nodded. He didn't answer. There was nothing more to add to that. This zoner was pretty spot on. Skrawl wasn't sure why it didn't click with him earlier, but now that Pascal was telling him this, it all made sense now. No wonder the stick figure zoners were eager to work with this guy, despite their not-so-good first meeting. _If they had a chance to get something back for themselves..._

Skrawl began to wonder how he could work this into his advantage. He had no idea just how much he and the stick figures had in common. If he played his cards right, he might be able to really secure loyalty with them. Even if this whole thing with Pascal did not work out, he could use this experience to help him out in the future. He could only just imagine what he would accomplish if he managed to sway the stick figure community into his favor. As basic as they were, they still made up the majority of the denizens of ChalkZone, did they not?

Just imagine what he could do with that sort of power...

Skrawl shook his head to snap himself back to attention. He looked over at Pascal, staring at them intently, before he spoke up, "And you are going to help them...how?" Skrawl gestured towards Pascal. "What exactly do you plan on doing to help them get what they want? You got some sort of plan up your sleeve?"

Pascal nodded their head curtly. "Oh yes, I do. Think I'm stupid?" Pascal raised their arms up in a quick shrug. "I wouldn't have done all of this if I didn't have a plan."

Skrawl decided to ignore Pascal's tone of voice as he asked, "And what did you have in mind?"

Pascal stared at him for a few seconds, hesitating to answer. The silence that followed this made Skrawl grit his teeth. He had no idea why Pascal had to make this so difficult. Why couldn't they just tell him? They already told him everything else. So why not just tell him what they wanted? Why not tell him exactly what they were trying to do? The only thing that he knew for sure is that it must be something that would benefit the other zoners in some way. And it had to do with creators, right?

 _But what could it be...?_ Skrawl tried to think of that for himself. He searched his mind's eye as he tried to figure out something that Pascal could do. But he couldn't think of anything in particular. At least, nothing specific. The one thing that stood out was revenge against Rudy and Penny, but Skrawl had a feeling, a strong hunch, that this wasn't it. No, there had to be something else involved with this. Something like...

"Come over here."

Skrawl noticed that Pascal had moved over towards what appeared to be a small table and a chair. It was hidden behind some boxes so it was no wonder he had not noticed this before. Skrawl licked his lips slowly as he headed on over. When he got close enough, he noticed there was some kind of book on it and it was opened up.

"What is this?" Skrawl asked as he moved in closer, his eyes glued to the thing before him. "Why are you..." Pascal moved out of the way so that he could take a look at what the book was opened up to. Skrawl placed his hands on the book carefully, keeping it open, and looked at it, scanning his eyes around it. When he took notice of what this was, his eyes flickered, "...this is it...?"

Pascal nodded as they walked over slowly, a smile spreading along their face. "Isn't it something?"

"It's... It's just a piece of chalk..." Indeed, on the paper before him, all that he could see there was just...a piece of chalk. Granted it was not the same color as he would expect a magic chalk piece to be. But in the end, it was still magic chalk. Which meant that... "It's useless to you and me." Skrawl raised his hand up in gesture, claws pointed upwards, as he turned to glare at Pascal. "You're seriously wasting everyone's time with this? Even I am not that cruel.."

"I'm wasting no one's time. That chalk there... It's special." Pascal said. They pointed at the chalk, tapping the page carefully. "It's not your average magic chalk."

Skrawl looked back down at the page. He narrowed his eyes more deeply. "But how is it special? It doesn't look that much different from any regular chalk. I mean... yeah I would be able to pick it out if you dropped it in a pile of chalk. But..." Skrawl let out an exasperated sigh. He sideglanced Pascal. "...why would anyone care about this piece of chalk?"

Pascal chortled softly. "Well, if it was so 'unspecial', why would it be placed in a heavily guarded area? And why would they have chased me out when I tried to take it?"

Skrawl stared at Pascal in shock.

sss

They needed to figure out something and fast. They needed to figure out just how they were going to ensure that they could protect as many zoners as they possibly could. Such a task was going to be daunting, but they owed them all some form of protection. They couldn't just leave them to be attacked. There had to be something that they could do.

Rudy thought at first that it was going to be a little simple. If Rapsheeba were attacked due to her connection with her creator, then that would severely limit the number of zoners, correct? So his initial logic was to find his own creations. Bathtub Granny, Blocky, Howdy, and several other examples, and then find a place to put them to keep them safe. He couldn't remember everyone that he had drawn, but he did know that the number of his own personal creations that he interacted with in ChalkZone was... _limited._

But then he had to wonder about zoners that he did not create, but improved on. There were three that came to mind. There was Biclops, there was Barney, and there was that dragon. He forgotten his name, but he could never forget what he looked like. He swore that dragon was even more massive than Biclops himself. All three zoners were not creations of his but he had collaborated with them. _So_...would that make them 'his' zoners to an extent? Would this cause the stick figure group to go after them, too? It was difficult to say.

Not surprisingly, trying to think about this was giving him a headache. Despite hearing comforting words from Penny and getting a few pats from Snap, Rudy still could not fully relax about this. There was still much to worry about, much to think about. And trying to figure out one specific way to deal with this stuff was going to be tricky.

"Rudy... You don't have to think so hard on this. We're here to help you." Penny said. She tried to sound as reassuring as possible. Though Rudy wanted to take comfort in her words, he just could not bring himself to do so.

"Yeah, Bucko." Snap nodded in agreement. He motioned upward with his hand. "We can figure out something... I know we will."

Rudy stared over at Snap. Rudy was trying his best to look a little brave, but the horror of what was going on still permeated through his face. He could not relax, no matter how hard that he tried. He bit his lip tightly and said, "How can you be so relaxed? You're..." His voice trailed off when he realized what he was about to do. He sucked his bitten lip tightly, unable to do anything except stare at Snap.

The superhero zoner seemed to catch on quickly what his thought processes were. "So you're saying that you think that I can't protect myself?"

"Snap!" Penny hissed at him.

Snap continued, "Look, I know you're worried about me. I'm scared too." He motioned his hands to himself. "But I'm not about to sit still and let them take me. If they want me, they will have to fight!" He gripped Rudy's shoulder tightly. "You should follow the same path, Rudy. You're the Great Creator! The protector of ChalkZone! You shouldn't let yourself get down so easily! These guys? They're still zoners and they still don't have power over you. I was hoping that you would keep believing that."

Rudy gave Snap a small smile. "You do know how to bring up good points."

Snap smiled at this. "Glad to help!"

"But still..."

Snap frowned softly. "Rudy..."

The young boy looked at the ground, his arms wrapped around his folded legs. He kept his gaze away, unable to bring himself to look at Snap or Penny. "This is still something I've never faced before. It was easier when it was, like, just Skrawl or something. But a whole army? And of stick figures?" Rudy could feel a cold chill rushing through him. "H-How am I supposed to know... They look so..." He looked over at his friends. He was starting to feel a sense of helplessness, no matter how hard that he tried. "What am I supposed to do?"

He wasn't surprised when his friends didn't answer him right away. How could they? They were all lost on this matter. The past villains they've faced were at least distinguishable. Recognizable. But these zoners? They were practically clones. Rudy did not like to think of them that way. He did not want to diminish their value was living, feeling creatures. But the fact remained that there was almost nothing distinguishable about any of them. Maybe a few small things, but those could be replicated by any stick figure zoner for the most part. This made it not only hard to figure out names, but also hard to know whether or not a stick figure they come across in the future is part of this group or not.

Rudy wished there was an easier way to do this. He wished that there could be something that he could draw to help him identify these zoners. But he had nothing. There was just...nothing that he could draw that would work. He didn't have enough knowledge for such a thing. He would have to talk to the stick figure zoners, and he never knew which one was an ally or not.

It really felt horrible, to walk into ChalkZone and being nervous about every stick figure zoner that he came across. Even the bakers he and Snap interacted with suddenly looked frightening. And what made it even worse is that there were so many stick figure zoners. Too many; they made up the bulk of the zoner population. What if they were all against him? How could he stand against the might of such an army? Sure they might not be extraordinary on their own, but if they combined together... Rudy shuddered to think of what would happen.

Finally, Rudy broke the silence. He looked down at his hands, his fingers curving inward, flexing them. "I just...don't know what to do, guys. I really don't know what to do..." He looked at the ground continuously, though he could still feel his friends' sympathetic eyes shining down upon him. "Those zoners... We don't know what they can do. We don't know how many of them there are. We don't know any of their names. H-How can I..."

"We can draw a shelter." Snap suggested.

Penny nodded her head in agreement. "Snap has a good idea, Rudy." The boy lifted his head to look over at his friends once more. "We can draw a shelter and bring in as many potential 'targets' as we can. Then we can draw in defenses to keep the zoners inside safe. We then can go try to find this group that attacked Rapsheeba and..."

"We can pulverize them!" Snap shouted as he slammed his fist against his palm, a smile stretching on his face. He took notice of Rudy and Penny staring at him. He immediately recoiled and he gave a nervous smile. "I mean... We can send them to that nice rehab place where we sent Butch..."

Penny raised an eyebrow at this. "Provided there is enough room."

Rudy gritted his teeth. "Yeah, that's right... It might not be large enough..." Rudy scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, we could always draw another place and..." He stopped himself, stiffening up for a moment. "...but I really don't like the idea of drawing such a place.."

"I know, Rudy. Neither am I." Penny looked at him sympathetically. "But we have to think of the well being of the zoners here."

"I know..." Rudy let out a small sigh. "I know that we have to consider everyone here. I don't want to..." He stopped himself for a few moments as he tried to think of what else to say. He could feel parts of his body feel as though they were heating up and he realized just how much time they were wasting sitting around here, talking about this stuff. He realized that they had to try to get things moving if they wanted any chance of making this work. He didn't know how much time that they had. "Okay, well, if we're going to do this..."

Suddenly he stopped himself, his eyes going wide and his body stiffening once more. He felt a rush of coldness going through him and he struggled to keep himself from throwing up. A difficult thing to do with how much his stomach was rapidly churning and twisting inside of him. He looked over at Penny and Snap, looking into their confused eyes, their uncertain expressions. He licked his lips slowly and it took him a while before he could dare to ask what was floating around inside of his head.

"Wh-What are we going to do... I mean.. I can't believe I didn't..." Rudy's mind raced, his heart thumping loudly inside of his chest. His eyes darted this way and that, his vision becoming quite blurred and unable to determine anything in particular. He thought that his mind's engine had been locked into overdrive and there was nothing that he could do to change it. "I..."

Penny and Snap looked at Rudy in shock and confusion, obviously very worried for their friend. They rushed over towards him and grabbed onto him, trying to help him snap out of it.

"Rudy! Bucko! _Speak to me!_ "

"Rudy, what's wrong?!"

"Rudy!"

" _Please...!_ "

The young boy had to shake his head a few times before he could get himself out of this horrible lock of thought. He took in several shaky, trembly breaths, his eyes darting around still, trying to make out what was around him. His blurred vision rapidly cleared as he stared at Penny and Snap. He continued to breathe heavily before he finally let out a louder, exasperated sigh. He lowered his head and felt a pang of guilt gripping him.

"I-I'm so sorry, you guys. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I didn't..."

"Shhh... It's okay, Rudy." Penny wrapped her arms around the boy, pulling him close. "We understand... It will be all right."

Snap put his hand on Rudy's. "It's fine. We're not upset at you."

Rudy tried to take comfort in these words, but he found it so hard to smile. He could only just keep looking down, his eyes widening, his mind still spinning. The thing that he had just thought of, how could he relax to this? How could he just sit here and... while this was... He could feel a dull headache spreading throughout his skull.

"Rudy, please...tell us what is the matter..." Penny cupped Rudy's chin, tilting it upwards. She looked at him the eyes, not allowing him to turn away himself. "Please tell us... You're scaring us like this, Rudy."

Snap bit his lip. "If you figured out something..."

"Y-Yeah, I know..." Rudy's voice cracked. "I just..wasn't sure how to explain this." He turned his gaze away, his eyes looking left and right. "I can't think of..." He couldn't get himself to speak any further. His voice just...failed in his throat and he could only just... But he had to try to tell them. He couldn't leave them in suspense forever. "I just realized something." His voice was low, breathy, almost hard to hear. He could see his friends looking at him in suspense. Swallowing hard, Rudy finally got himself to say what was hanging around on his mind this whole time. "I think there's a lot more zoners in trouble than we assumed..."

"What...?" Snap asked in confusion. He raised his hand up in gesture. "What do you mean? We don't know that many whom you..."

"Rudy, what are you talking about?" Penny clasped her hands together in worry. "Are you implying that..." She suddenly stopped, her eyes going wide. "Oh my..."

"You're thinking of it, too, aren't you?" Rudy stared at Penny. His eyes narrowed slightly, not out of anger, but out of shere horror. "You know what I'm talking about..."

"What? What are you saying?" Snap raised his hands up, waving them in confusion. "I don't get what you two are talking about!"

Penny looked down at Snap. She took in a few slow breaths before she reached out and touched his shoulder. Snap waited for an answer. "I think what Rudy's trying to say is... The targets..." She looked over at Rudy, as though signaling him to continue.

"..are _almost everyone_ in ChalkZone City..."

As soon as he said this, there was a chilling silence, horror resting upon them all. They looked at one another, unable to calm down right away. They could feel their bones turning into ice, the blood having a hard time pumping through. They could feel their bodies trembling, and their legs wobbled constantly. It was a miracle that they were able to stay sitting or standing up like this. Rudy thought for sure that Snap would fall down at this point. How did he stay up was anyone's guess.

But that was hardly a concern for him. Right now he was more worried about how they were going to handle this bit of information. What were they going to do now that they all acknowledged that there were other zoners involved here? Could he really hide an entire city? Would that be practical? And of course, the other question was...

"How are we going to do who to hide...?" Penny's shaky voice said.

"I don't know, B-Buckette..." Snap rubbed his hands together his teeth gritted. "We might choose all the wrong zoners to save or kick out and..."

"I don't want to play favorites." Rudy was horrified at the idea of having to 'choose' who to save. It was not something that he ever wished that he.. His thoughts trailed off as they grew stiff in his head. He felt as though he was fighting an uphill battle just trying to continue his thought processes. "There has to be another way to do this..."

"But if there really are many targets..." Snap blinked his eyes a few times. He took a step towards Rudy. "Hey, what makes you think that's the case?"

Rudy wasn't surprised Snap was asking this question. Of course he wouldn't understand so quickly. Though not stupid, there were certain things that flew over his head initially. This was easily fixed just by explaining more in detail to him. Rudy decided to do this, but with as few words as possible. "Snap, if these zoners are attacking zoners who associate with creators, wouldn't that mean all of ChalkZone City is in danger, too? I mean, think about it. So many of those zoners talk to me and Penny almost every day that we visit!"

"Yeah, but I don't see...Oh." Snap's eyes widened in horror. "Oh I see..."

Rudy nodded his head solemnly. "I don't even recall how many of them have spoken with me or Penny. It could have been all of them..." He looked towards the ground. "And if that's the case, then that's a lot of zoners to move." He looked at Snap. "How many people would you say live in ChalkZone City?"

Snap looked upwards as he bit his tongue lightly, scratching the side of his face. "Hmm... I would say... You're definitely looking at an excess of at least ten thousand zoners."

" _Ten thousand?!_ "

Snap shrugged his shoulders. "ChalkZone City is a huge place." His eyes flickered in fear. "But that does leave a lot of targets for those guys to go after." He motioned his hand towards Rudy swiftly. "You have to draw something!"

"But what?" Rudy raised his hands in the air. "What could I draw? And how do I know what citizens to save or not? Surely some of them are a part of that group, or at least sympathize with them. Most of the zoners in the city are stick figures, and any one of them might be in on this..." He stopped himself when he felt Penny's hand on his shoulder. He felt some sense of comfort when he saw the way that he was looking at her. "Penny..."

Penny looked at him sympathetically. But there was some sort of glint in her eyes. He knew what it meant. "Let's go see Biclops."

There didn't need to be a debate or a discussion about this. Both Rudy and Snap unanimously agreed. If there was anyone in ChalkZone who might be able to help them, it was Biclops.


	10. The Reason For Revenge

The journey to the Chalk Mine took longer than expected. A pretty strange thing, considering that it was not like it had moved anywhere. And yet it still felt like it took forever. Perhaps this was because of the tension in the air, the rigidness of everything around them. Time did seem to slow down as they hurried over to the protected mines.

Penny did feel some guilt that she hadn't thought about this earlier. As soon as the attack on Rapsheeba occurred, she should have thought to see Biclops right then and there. But they had been so worked up over what happened and trying so hard to figure out what the heck was going on, that she failed to consider the fact that Biclops would have been willing to help. The giant hardly entered her mind, and she felt a pang of guilt at that.

Oh well, at least they were now going to see the giant. At least now they were going to finally ask him about what had happened. There was no need to inform him; the giant knew what goes on around these parts. Not all of ChalkZone obviously, but the city and the surrounding areas. So he would have caught wind already of what happened to Rapsheeba.

She hoped that he would be able to tell them more of what could have been the cause. Why would a bunch of stick figure zoners do something like this? What would be their motivations? And _just_.. what were they going to do about this? She gritted her teeth tightly, knowing full well that Biclops might only give more questions than answers. The idea infuriated her, and yet she knew perfectly well that this was a possibility. And if it was.. Well, she hoped that she and her friends would be able to figure out something that they could do about this.

She and Rudy and Snap continued their way towards the Chalk Mine, which they could see in the distance now. They moved over in its direction, increasing their speed, urgency rushing through their bodies. They opened their mouths and panted heavily as their bodies required increasing levels of oxygen to keep moving. Their muscles burned and their lungs contorted, trying to get in more air than they could hold.

To their luck, Biclops just happened to be standing outside of the Chalk Mine. He looked like he was doing a little bit of cleaning. He had a wheelbarrow in his hands and chunks of dead, rotten chalk inside. Penny recalled hearing details of this from Rudy when he told her about the time he and Snap had gone into the red chalk mine. She shuddered at the thought.

"Hey, Biclops!" Snap was the first one to call out. "We need to talk to you!"

Biclops immediately stopped. The giant looked surprised to see the trio rushing towards him. He was so shocked that he nearly tipped over the wheelbarrow. He managed to right himself and he lifted up a hand to wave at them. "Oh hello, Rudy Tabootie, Penny Sanchez, and Snap! What brings you two here?"

"It's Snap White!" Snap folded his arms briefly.

"Come on, Snap. Now's not the time." Rudy scolded his friend.

"Besides, it's not even your real last name." Penny pointed out.

Snap struck a pose. "But it suits me _so_ well!" He immediately blinked at this, realizing what he was doing, and shook his head. "Oh what am I doing..." He looked up at Biclops and started to jump up and down, panic rushing through his body. "Biclops, you've got to help us! It's an emergency!"

Biclops widened his eyes at this.

Penny nodded her head. "I'm sure you know of what happened to Rapsheeba?"

Biclops lowered his gaze, biting his lip. His eyes furrowed in concern. " _Yes_... Unfortunate. To think that such a thing could happen..." He straightened himself up. "I mean, it is of no surprise. Some zoners are nasty. But... Rapsheeba never did anything to draw attention like that. And I've never seen any zoners around here, aside from mostly Skrawl and Craniac, acting like that." He motioned his hand outward as he continued to speak. "It is certainly worrying."

Rudy nodded in agreement. He rubbed his arm lightly, his hand going up and down in a rhythmic pattern. "I don't even know what I can do to help." He looked down sideways for a couple of seconds. Then he looked back up at Biclops and said, "My friends and I think that what's going on is that these zoners don't like creators. And because Rapsheeba has contact with her creator...sort of... They targeted her."

"I don't even know how they could have found out, though." Snap looked at his hands, motioning them out to the side and inward repeatedly. "We promised we wouldn't tell anyone." He looked at Biclops. "You did not tell anyone either, did you?"

Biclops shook his head. "No, I have not." He pressed a finger to his chin. "It is possible that they happened upon her at her creator's spot." He held his large hand upwards. "Or maybe they just overheard someone talking."

"Yeah, that is true. We don't usually bring it up, but once in a while..." Snap kept his arms folded, his eyes furrowing deeply. "Heh, perhaps I'm the one who caused this. I do have a big mouth."

Penny placed a hand on Snap's shoulder. "The only one to blame for this are those zoners, Snap, and you know it." Snap didn't say anything, but Penny could see clearly in his eyes that he did appreciate the gesture. She smiled at him before she returned her attention to Biclops. "You've been here for a long time, right?"

Biclops nodded his head. "That is true. I've been here..." He paused for a moment. "Definitely a few decades your time."

"So do you have any idea what could have caused the zoners to do this? I mean, those stick figures?" Penny asked.

Biclops blinked. "Stick figures?"

Rudy nodded. "Yeah. We didn't realize it at first, but yeah, they were all stick figures." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "All similar-looking stick figures at that. Nothing really distinguishable about them. It's...frustrating. I don't know who to trust anymore in ChalkZone City." He gripped the sides of his head. " _Most of the zoners there are stick figures!_ "

"Rudy, calm down..." Snap started to say. Penny flinched. That had been the wrong thing to say.

Rudy turned to glare at Snap. "Calm down? How can I when so many lives are at stake?! We don't know when they are going to strike next! And I... _Argh!_ " Rudy struck against the ground as hard as he could. He suddenly stiffened and he let out a yelp, holding his arm to himself. It was at this moment that they were all reminded that he was injured.

Snap reached out towards him, but did not try to grab him. "Bucko..."

Rudy clinched his teeth tightly. "I'm... _fine_..."

Penny looked at the wound. It didn't look like it was badly aggravated. She still gave Rudy a stern look. "You need to be more careful." Rudy didn't answer. He just gave a stiff nod in return. Penny let out a sigh and she said to Biclops, "Yeah that's our problem. With them being stick figures, taking action is going to be hard. We don't even know any of their names and without recognizable features, it's hard for us to even start asking questions."

Biclops replied, "I agree. I admit, I'm surprised I hadn't noticed they were all stick figures myself. I guess it all happened so fast, and then I had to start cleaning out the mine because...well.." His eyes flickered with a bit of uncomfortableness. "You do not want to know what happens if the mine's rotten chalk isn't cleaned out frequently."

"Yeah I can imagine..." Rudy commented. He cleared his throat and he took a step towards Biclops and he said, "So...do you have any ideas?"

Biclops remained silent for a while. He was tapping his chin lightly, clearly trying to think of an answer. The trio let him search through his mind as he attempted to scope out some kind of answer. He remained like this for a while, and the silence rapidly grew unbearable. They all fidgeted, dreading what the answer as going to be. Yet at the same time, they were drawn in. They needed to know what this giant was going to say.

And finally, he did speak.

"...I believe I have an idea. And it's..not pretty."

When the giant said this, Penny looked over at her friends. She could see the looks in their eyes, the way that their eyes widened. They all had a feeling of what this could mean. And none of them were going to like hearing it. But it wasn't like they could just simply deny it, either. If this information was going to help them solve just what the heck was going on with those stick figure zoners, this was the only way to do it. They needed answers and they needed them now.

Even before the giant continued to speak, Penny couldn't help but let her mind wander a little. Her brain already conjured up several worst case scenario type of deals, and they just got more and more gruesome the longer that she thought about them. She could feel her heart pounding inside of her chest and she tried to control her increased breathing. She felt her eyes widen as she thought of all kinds of conspiracies, hidden threats, all that. She did not mean to think like this. It just kind of happened. Perhaps she was more influenced by fear than she initially thought.

Then again, considering all that can be done in ChalkZone, perhaps she was not being so unreasonable after all. Regardless, she tried her best to be silent as the giant zoner in front of them started to explain.

"Well, Rudy... Do you... remember what I told you about the creators of the past...?"

"Wait, what..?" Penny turned over to look at Rudy. "What is he... Oh, is he talking about those creators who..." Rudy nodded his head. Penny nearly slapped herself in the face. "Oh that's right..." She didn't know how she could have forgotten. It was one of the first things she'd learned when she was new in ChalkZone. She shook the thoughts out of her head. Right now, there was no time to scold herself over something as silly as that. She looked back over at Biclops and said, "So anyway, what about them?"

Rudy nodded his had. "Yeah, Biclops. I recall you telling me about how bad they were..." Rudy held his hands up at his sides. "But just what do they have to do with this?"

Biclops narrowed his eyes deeply. "Oh it has everything to do with this.." The giant shut his vertical eyes, raising a finger up into the air. "With how terrible things had been before, do you really think that everyone would have gotten over that so easily?"

The trio exchanged nervous glances.

Biclops spread his huge hands outward. "Those creators ran amok in ChalkZone! They drew all kinds of horrible creations and ravaged this whole place!" He lowered his hands. "I tell you, Rudy Tabootie and friends, you would not have liked the ChalkZone I had been created in." He rubbed the back of his large, thick neck at this. There were so many emotions flashing in front of his face. A constant whirlwind of internal conflict. "I mean, not all of the creators were bad... But the ones who were..." He shut his eyes tightly. There were hints of tears that streaked down his face. "They would _shame_ Skrawl himself."

That was all that needed to be said for them all to understand the gravity of the situation. They all knew what was Skrawl was like. Even when that guy had hit pretty low, he still managed to come out as one of the most terrifying zoners they have to deal with. They don't know what he would do next, and he would stoop to so many levels. He had even tried to turn Penny against them once...

Penny shuddered to think of that. She still felt tremendous amounts of guilt for what she was forced to do. Even though Rudy and Snap forgave her, she still hadn't fully forgiven herself. She wished she could have done something else that didn't involve recklessly endangering one of her friends' lives. She could have easily killed Snap in her little stunt. If Rudy hadn't reacted quickly enough... Penny knew that she shouldn't let herself continue to be weighed down by this. She did what she had to do. That didn't mean that she had to enjoy it. Tough decisions were...well, tough. At least she was able to get Rudy and Snap to safety.

But she still could not relax. She still had to pay attention to the fact that, as terrible as Skrawl could be, to think that someone out there could be worse... She knew of Skrawl's attempts to destroy Rudy and his creations, to making her side with him, to using a robot that nearly brain damaged Rudy, to brainwashing a large portion of ChalkZone, including Biclops himself... _To think that there could be anyone worse than that..._

Then again, she could not be all that surprised. After all, humans could be pretty awful. Not that zoners can't be, but humans, creators as zoners called them, could create anything. Whatever a creator wanted, they could get, and she would not put it past some creators to 'toy' with zoners. Not even accepting them as real people on the same level as Rudy and her did. And this realization combined with knowing just what the fuck some children their age do... she could feel her blood turning into ice.

Biclops's voice sliced through the air, ending the uncomfortable silence that had settled upon them. It was something of a welcome. "I have no doubt in my mind that these zoners that you speak of had been wronged by creators and had never gotten over it. They could have been around from that era."

Penny flinched at this. "They have my deepest sympathies in that regard..."

"But let's not forget, they're still causing us trouble now." Snap pointed out, his eyes narrowed. "We shouldn't focus too much on sympathizing with them."

"Yes, I know, Snap." Penny couldn't agree more. While she could understand why the stick figure zoners were angry, if they really were survivors of an era long gone, but that did not mean that she was diminishing the severity of their crimes. What they did was still inexcusable. But it was still nice to get some form of context of this situation. "But this is a tougher case than I thought it was going to be."

Rudy bared his teeth slightly. "Yeah... It was bad enough before, but... How are we going to deal with zoners like these?" Rudy raised his hands up, palms facing upwards. "They already hate creators it would seem. If we intervene, wouldn't that make them feel more justified?"

"Perhaps.. But we still need to do something." Said Penny. "We can't just let them keep running around ChalkZone hurting people like this."

Biclops gave a slow, solemn nod. "That is correct. If someone is causing trouble in ChalkZone, even if another zoner, something has to be done about it." Biclops's vertical eyes furrowed slightly. "It is no that easy maintaining peace across this world. I don't even know what other sections are like. I do my best to help this section remain peaceful. But if some kind of disruption happens like with these zones, and it goes unchecked and it spreads..." The pale yellow giant shuddered as the thoughts crossed his mind. "Egh.. I don't want to think about it..."

The trio agreed unanimously on this. None of them wanted to know what ChalkZone would be like if zoners like these were allowed to wreak havoc. They had mostly known this part of ChalkZone for being peaceful, but they were well aware that some areas of this world were still...not so good. If anything, this was one of the most peaceful spots in all of ChalkZone. They did not want to think of how the zoners would react to a sudden onslaught of violence similar to what other areas suffered from. Granted, most of them weren't as bad as when creators ran free here, but still...

Suddenly, Rudy released a loud gasp, enough that it caused Snap to jump into the air. Penny felt her body shudder quickly at the sound and she looked over at the boy, wondering if he was hurt or something.

"Rudy! _What happened?!_ " Penny cried out. "Why did you..."

"I just thought of something.." Rudy whispered lowly.

Snap brushed himself off. "Does it involve scaring me again?"

Rudy ignored Snap's comment, his eyes filled with horror and realization. The sight of this caused even Biclops to freeze with uncertainty. When Rudy thought of something and he looked like this, it was never a good thing. They waited in silence as the boy turned to them, his voice remaining low and a little trembly. "What if these zoners are angry at how they've been treated in the Real World...?"

Penny and Snap exchanged confused expressions. Biclops looked the same as Rudy, as though he immediately got what the boy was trying to say. But Penny and Snap still remained confused. What was Rudy alluding at?

"Don't you see? I can't believe I didn't.." Rudy put a hand to the side of his head, rubbing his cheek lightly. "It should have been so obvious..."

"What should have been so obvious, Rudy?" Penny asked, raising a hand up.

"Yeah, Bucko." Snap motioned a rounded hand in Rudy's direction. "Care to enlighten us?"

Rudy continued to rub his head, his eyes cast downward. "Well.. Remember that time when I 'corrected' those drawings?" Rudy gulped at this, obviously feeling shame at having to recall something so... Well at least he learned his lesson from that. Penny gave a nod. "Well they seemed to know that I was the one who did that..."

"Yeah? And...?" Snap inquired.

Rudy gritted his teeth for a moment. "You can't see it? If they knew I was the one, then they must have been aware of me being there, changing them. They must have a sense of... 'seeing', in a way, before they're erased. They must be aware, on some level, what the creator intends to do with them. And that means that if a creator had foul intentions, the zoner would know."

Penny and Snap exchanged looks with one another.

Rudy was not yet done. He added in, "And who is to say that these zoners haven't felt the same?"

"Wait, are you saying that these zoners were being tortured by their creators?" Snap tilted his head to one side. "Not that I'm saying that's disturbing as heck, but what makes you think that is the case with these zoners? They're stick figures, Rudy." Snap raised his arms up for a moment. "Don't you creators tend to give them little attention? Why would they..." Snap paused for a moment. "Then again..."

Rudy slowly rotated his head tone side. One of his eyes stared over at his friends quietly, his eyes contorting and widening, showing a variety of emotion. But there was also a sense of submission to them, a look that no one liked to see from the boy. "That's... _exactly_ what I mean..."

There was an overbearing silence that weighed down upon the group at this. If Biclops had been wanting to say something, this thing that Rudy said had made him shut up. The silence rapidly grew uncomfortable as the group stared at one another, wondering what they could say about this. It was a very real possibility and something that they all knew they should have realized earlier.

Not that it never crossed their mind, but they never thought about it as deeply as Rudy just did. And it did not fully click with them until now. It all made sense. What if the reason these zoners were acting out wasn't because of any torture or physical pain inflicted upon them, but instead the lack of attention at all? They had considered something similar before. But now that Rudy laid it bare in front of them...

And even then, what if that was not the full story? What if there was something more? What if there was another angle that they were missing? The idea that something more sinister was going on chilled their blood. And the fact that Biclops was not saying anything to reassure them suggested strongly just how real of a possibility that this was.

Penny knew that something needed to be said. They couldn't just keep staring at each other like this. They couldn't continue letting their fears and horrors get in the way of figuring out what they were going to do about this. Something had to be done, and since no one else here was speaking up, she decided to break the silence for herself. She cleared her throat as she moved towards Biclops, the first person she thought of to go to, in order to ask this question. Once she got the giant's attention, she spoke up.

"What should we do about this?" She asked carefully, a sense of caution still twisting up her stomach. She feared what the answer was going to be, yet she could not look away. "Do you have any ideas on what we can do about this?"

She and her friends looked up at the giant intently, waiting for him to reply. Biclops watched them with almost tired, solemn-looking eyes. Not a good sign... But Penny remained hopeful that Biclops would have something that could be helpful, something that could help turn things around, something like... Well she had no clue. But still, there had to be some way of dealing with zoners like these. There just had to be.

"..I am not certain."

This was like a gigantic slap in the face. None of them wanted to hear that. None of them had wanted a non-answer like that. The emotions that struck them at this nearly knocked them off of their feet. And it provided them with the harsh reminder that there was no easy answer for this. How do they deal with zoners whom looked too much alike, too generic that they can't tell what their names were or who was who? How were they going to confront zoners who already had it out for creators without accidentally reinforcing their beliefs and motivations?

None of that had an answer answer. They did not expect there to be one that easily given to them. But they still wished, still wanted, something that could be helpful. They had all hoped that Biclops, voice of reason in ChalkZone, would provide them with some push in the right direction. _If he can't even do that..._

Biclops spoke up again, "I would need more information. As you may have already guessed, names are important." Biclops raised his finger at this. "If you are able to bring me back some names, I might have some information that could prove useful."

It was better than nothing, at least. Not like it really helped all that much, though. How were they going to nab names when they don't have a good enough description to go by to even get to one of them? How did Biclops think that they could achieve something like that? Or was he really just as desperate as them and grasping at straws here? Honestly, they bet that it was the second thing.

"Okay, Biclops." Rudy said solemnly. "I... We will do the best that we can with that."

Biclops gave a grim smile. "I wish you all luck."

"Yeah... Thanks.." Rudy turned and exchanged worried glances with his friends. Silent questions were zipped across each other, filling each other up with several unnerving thoughts. Then, taking one more glance at Biclops and each giving off a disappointed sigh, they began to walk away, allowing the giant to return to his cleaning duties.


	11. Foreboding

How frustrating... Well not like he could blame Biclops for not knowing. He honestly didn't know what he had expected when he had gone up to the giant for help. Perhaps he should have considered this before he and his friends walked all the way over here. It almost felt like a _waste_ of a trip and...

No, it wasn't a waste. He shouldn't think like that. Yeah, they didn't get the information that they wanted. But they at least had some new ideas on what was going on. They had a better understanding than before, and they were a bit more prepared. Not that their challenge was diminished, but still, all the help they could get was fully welcomed.

But now what were they going to do? They needed to gather information on these zoners. Some form of intel so they can figure out what to do next. It wasn't going to be easy to acquire said information. He wouldn't be surprised if they didn't figure out anything before something huge happened. He hated the thought of it, and he hoped that he did not jinx anything for anyone. But it was true, right? Misfortune always seemed to follow before major discoveries...

Rudy shook his head. He had to try to stay positive, right? Yeah, he had to try to keep himself focused on the task at hand. If he let himself be to engulfed in his emotions, he was only going to screw himself up even more. He could not allow that. Not when so many lives were at risk. As the protector of this world, he had to do whatever he could in his power to save these zoners. And that's exactly what he was going to do. He formed a tight fist with his hand and squeezed it. Oh yes, those zoners would not get way with what they had done.

"How are we going to do this?" Snap's voice rang out. The zoner had his hands to his face, his eyes shut tightly and his teeth grinding. "How are we supposed to figure out the names of those guys?!"

"I know it seems like a tall order. It is definitely not going to be easy." Penny looked at him and Rudy sadly. "But you heard Biclops. We can't really do much without more information. And we already knew that, remember?" Penny motioned with one hand while the other gently gripped Snap's shoulder right shoulder. "I'm sure we can figure out a way to..."

"Yeah, right." Snap growled as he ripped his arm away from her. "Keep dreaming... We will never learn any of their names because none of them fucking stand out!" Snap pushed his hand against Penny's arm. "Face it, Buckette. The only way that we will find out any of their names is if we ran into them again and then _forced_ a name out of them!"

Penny stared at Snap with wide eyes for a second, and then something seemed to click with her. It was almost hard to see and Rudy just barely caught it. That familiar look... It seemed as though Penny had something in mind. "Or...we could just watch them..."

Snap tilted his head, lowering his hand down. "Say what...?"

Penny nodded her had. "Yeah, we could follow them." She looked to Snap and Rudy in a repeated pattern as she spoke. "I know, it's still hard. But if we could run into them again, like if they go after another zoner, we could follow them. We could listen to what they say. We could see where they are going." Penny's eyes slowly filled with realization. "...And we can use that information to stop them..."

This sounded like a good idea initially. It did make sense to try to follow these zoners to learn about them. It was not very likely that they would just hand over the information they asked for that easily. It was doubtful that they were gullible enough to do something like that. So following them was the next best thing.

But then a concern popped up. What about the zoner attacked? They couldn't just stand aside and watch it happen, could they? Indeed, they'd have to do something about that. But wouldn't that interrupt their chance of following them? Stealth was the best option to take and if they didn't use stealth properly, then...

Rudy gritted his teeth. He could feel a headache pounding throughout his head. He shook it slowly as he tried to stave off the pain. He found it increasingly difficult to do and it felt like the drums in his skull were banging harder and harder. He seethed as his head swirled around in circles. He didn't want to let himself keep falling deep into this, but how could he figure a way around this? He needed to choose something. He needed to decide whether or not this was a good idea. And until he did, they could not do anything.

"I just wish there was an easier way to go about this, you know? Some way that doesn't involve endangering ourselves or others." Rudy spoke his thoughts aloud. He could feel his friends' sympathetic glances upon him as he kept speaking. "I mean... We can't just put a zoner in danger like that. We need a way to get this information without having to risk hurting anyone."

"I get ya, Bucko." Snap nodded in agreement. "I don't like the idea much myself. Hmm..." He rubbed his chin lightly. "Say... do you think you can..use your chalk?"

Rudy looked at him in confusion. "For _what?_ Without information..."

"But what about one of those... you know..." Snap made a few quick motions with his hands. "Spy things? Wouldn't one of them work?"

Penny's eyes widened in realization. "Oh yes! That could work!" She whirled her head so fast that it was impossible to see. She stared intently at Rudy and said, "You could draw one of your spy devices. Some kind of thing like that, and have it patrol around ChalkZone!" She moved her finger in a circular motion as she said this. "That way, you could find out about these zoners and you don't need to risk another zoner to do it."

Rudy felt a sensation inside of him, difficult to describe, as he realized just how right these two were. He could not believe that he had not thought about that. He felt almost embarrassed by this. He should have known that he could have just done that. Yet somehow it slipped his mind constantly and he kept worrying himself more and more and...

Well, that's why he had his friends to help him out, right? He was grateful that they were here, to remind him of ideas that he would have otherwise forgotten about.

Giving a small smile, he said, "Yeah, that should work. If I can just..." He looked down at his magic chalk. "Designing such a thing shouldn't be too difficult. I just need to program it to find suspicious zoners or..." He stopped himself. "Or perhaps..." He rubbed his head. "Gawd, I'm thinking way too hard on this."

"It's all right, Rudy." Penny looked at him sympathetically. "We're all frustrated about this. Don't blame yourself." She moved in closer. It took a few seconds before Rudy could feel her comforting hand squeezing his shoulder. "We will think more about this later."

"Later? Why later?" Snap inquired. "We don't exactly have a lot of time for..."

"We need to get back home for supper."

Rudy nearly gasped at this. Was it really that late? Had they really been in ChalkZone for that long? Rudy scrambled to look down for his watch, which he realized he didn't have. He then looked over at Penny, who held up a small chalk-drawn watch. He leaned in closer, and he could see that it was getting close to six o'clock. His heart immediately skipped a beat as he realized that his folks were probably worried about him.

"Oh shit that's right!" Rudy slapped himself in the forehead. "I can't believe I forgot!" He looked over at Snap, regret forming over his face. "I'm sorry, Snap! We have to get going!"

"That's all right. We can talk later." Snap waved at the two. "See you two around!"

With that, Rudy and Penny turned and immediately ran back to where the portal was. As they ran, Rudy's thoughts came alive and he struggled to think of what they could do about this. He tried to think of how he should handle creating his spy device. Perhaps he could... Oh he can try to figure it out later. Perhaps some food and a good night's rest would help him figure out something.

He just hoped that, in the end, he would figure out something that could work before it was too late. He didn't want to think of what would happen if he and Penny weren't able to help ChalkZone City before someone got really hurt. They were lucky to have saved Rapsheeba when they did. But what would happen when those zoners struck again and they were too late to do anything about it...?

Rudy shook the thought out of his head. He shouldn't let himself get too worked up over this. They would find a way to stop those zoners in time. They just... _had to..._

sss

Snap watched his friends walk off for a few moments. He waited until they disappeared into the distance before he turned back around to walk towards his own place. He was feeling a bit tired anyway and he did need some rest. At least Night Zone was not too far away from here. So it wouldn't take that long to reach it.

But the journey back there felt like it took much longer than expected. And he wasn't really entirely sure why at first. It wasn't like he was taking some ridiculous path or anything like that. He was just taking his usual path. So what was taking him so long? Why did it suddenly feel like everything was dragging along? Why did it feel like his limbs were taking much longer to complete each step?

Then it hit him.

 _He was afraid._

Snap tried his best to push back such thoughts. He tried his best to clear his mind and try not to allow himself to feel so scared. He reminded himself that everything usually worked out in the end. He tried to tell himself that he would be safe within his own home.

 _But what if he was not?_ What if those zoners came from him in here? What if he would wake up and found that they had surrounded him? He wouldn't have much place to go and he wouldn't have many options to escape. His home did not have any exits. He could only think of two. The main and the back. And those could easily be blocked off. And he wasn't about to jump off of anything. He was not that stupid. But that ultimately gave him little options if he were home invaded. And that fear just grew larger and larger...

He probably wouldn't have anything happen to him. It probably would be all right and he was just overreacting. He knew that he shouldn't let himself get too antsy about this sort of thing. He was only going to make things worse for himself if he acted this way. He had to try to force himself to calm down so he could think more rationally.

Yet could he be blamed for acting this way? Could anyone seriously look at him and think that he should just bucker up? He had a very good reason to feel this way. He had a very good reason to want to curl up in a corner somewhere. He might act all tough and he would still fight to protect himself or someone that he cared about. But he knew full well the odds of him being able to win a fight against a group of zoners. He might be able to handle a few, but when it came to how many zoners were in that group, there was no way that he would succeed. He would end up flat on the ground easily and he would be defeated before he knew what happened.

He gritted his teeth and seethed. He wished there was something more that he could do. He wished that there was some kind of option that he could take to ensure his safety. But he realized that in the end, there wasn't much that he could do. He would have to just lock the doors and shut the windows and hope for the best. That was not exactly comforting, but it was something that he could do.

He tried to push those thoughts out of his head the best way that he could as he continued on down the street. He passed by a few zoners, nearly bumping into a couple, due to his racing mind. He ignored their comments and shouts. He did not answer any zoner trying to understand what he was doing. He just kept on going, determined to back to his place before it got too late. Kind of hard to tell the time here in ChalkZone, but being a zoner, he had the strong innate sense of time. Probably the one thing that he had over his two human friends.

In that moment, he stiffened up and he realized that he kind of longed for them right now. Even as he approached his home, even though he knew he would be hidden out of sight within the safety of the walls, he felt this sense of...wanting to be with someone. Rudy, Penny, or both, he didn't care; he just wanted one of them to be with him. He did not want to be alone.

The only reason he didn't say anything earlier was because he knew he couldn't keep them. Even if he had this thought before, he still had to let them leave. Their families would have been worried otherwise. What kind of friend would he have been if he forced them to stay and their parents wondered what happened to them? That would have caused more trouble than it was worth and...

Snap released a sigh. He would be fine, right? It was just going to be for one night. What could _possibly_ happen in _one_ night?

Snap's train of thought was interrupted as he approached his home. A large apartment complex. He had to veer away from his original thought as he was thinking of his house in Day Zone, which was not meant for sleeping. If anything, recalling this made him feel better because of the security mechanisms in place. There was a stronger sense of safety in the night sections of ChalkZone City: zoners all sleeping in the same areas and making it harder for intrusions.

The blue superhero zoner walked up to the door leading into the building. He held out his key he used to get in. With a simple swipe and a beep, the door unlocked. Snap could hear the tumblers inside turning and soon he could grab the door and push it open. He shut it behind him and he headed up the stares.

He stiffened for a second when he heard a loud creaking sound. He whirled himself around, preparing for a potential fight, looking left and right. But he did not see anybody there. He looked down and he shuffled his feet a little. He realized that it was just the floor boards of the steps. He grumbled to himself, uttering a few less than pretty words under his breath. He hoped that the land lord would fix that. He's surprised that no one didn't have a heart attack because of this.

Releasing a few more low grumbles, Snap proceeded the rest of the way up until he reached his room. He struggled to put in the key. Stupid thing, he always forgot how to put it in. One would think that he had gotten the hang of this by now. But sometimes he ended up forgetting what he was doing and, well, it definitely became noticeable when he was stressed and...

No, he was not stressed. He was not going to let himself remain stressed. This was all going to work out just fine. He took in a few deep breaths as he entered his home. As he became surrounded by the familiar walls all around him, he felt a sense of relief. He had made it. It was all going to be just fine. He proceeded over to the welcoming couch before him, stretched himself on it, and just...relaxed.

But it didn't last long. Despite his best efforts, he still felt a cold chill running up and down his spine. His eyes widened and he struggled to breathe. A horrific thought came to him out of nowhere. It rammed into him with such a heavy force and any effort to stop it was met with resistance.

Sure, he might be safe in here for now. But that did not change the one fact that still loomed over his head: _He was a top target._

Snap had tried to look brave in front of his friends. He tried his best to make it seem like he was not that highly bothered by this. But the reality was, he was terrified. He couldn't fully relax. He kept looking over his shoulder, his gut twisting about. He could not make his muscles from stop tightening up. He could feel his head spinning around, pounding repeatedly over and over in his head. He shook it a few times, but he just could not stop it. He was glad that he was sitting down; he would have easily fallen at this rate. He reached up, rubbed his head firmly, and tried to think of this present situation.

There was a chance that these zoners could come after him. He was the one who interacted the most with a creator. He was the one who always hung out with two of them actually, Rudy and Penny. He was a prime target. If that group got a hold of him, they could force him to tell them anything they wanted to. They could even use him as potential bait. The thought sent a chill up and down his spine and he struggled not to throw up.

He tried his best to shrug it off. There was little that could be done about it right now. He was better off just trying to relax and go to sleep. Those other zoners, those stick figures, surely they had gone to bed by now. That was of some comfort to him, knowing that they were most likely tired from their failures and just gone to bed. And he should do the same.

...right after he watched a bit of television. Wouldn't hurt to calm himself down. He lifted up the controller, flipped the TV on, and a glow fell over his face in the darkness. As he watched the show that came on, he wondered with half interest just what Skrawl was doing right now. He almost...missed him as an antagonist. At least he knew who Skrawl was and what he could do.

He gave out a small chuckle to himself. He could only just imagine what he would say if he were to run into these nutcases. The humor was enough to stave off a bit of his fear and he was able to proceed watching TV without feeling too tense.

sss

"So you say you can give me some interesting information?" Asked Pascal.

Skrawl nodded his head. "I'm sure what I have to say would be quite useful."

After being a bit more informed, Skrawl did feel a bit more willing to cooperate. He no longer had to force himself to work with this zoner until it was time to strike. He did feel more comfortable helping out this zoner in the meantime. Plus he was a bit curious to see what they were capable of doing. And the best way to find out, in his opinion, was to hand over to them a bit of information to see how well they'd do.

 _And who knows?_ Perhaps he would be able to get something out of this. Maybe he could even get his hands on one of those fucking three that made his life miserable. He did fully understand that things might not work out that way for him and he had to be prepared for things to fall apart. But still, it was worth trying, right?

Okay, he needed to stop thinking about this; he was only confusing himself more. He should just get things going before he gave himself quite the headache. Licking his lips slowly, he proceeded to explain, "After all, you wanted to know more about any zoner that hung out with a creator, _right?_ "

Pascal nodded their head slowly. "At least, the stick figure zoners did. I'm sure they will be more than happy to hear this." They paused for a moment. Then they said, "And same thing with the future zoners. They would all benefit from this."

"I thought so." Skrawl nodded his head slowly. "And I know exactly which zoners do this."

"Oh? Care to tell me?" Pascal asked.

Skrawl remained silent for a moment. He tried to think of just how he should answer. He could just give out the answer right away like he planned. Or should he try to squeeze out even more information from them? There were still more things that he would like to know. More things that he wished to understand.

Pascal had not told him much about that chalk piece that they were after. They did not even tell him what was so special about it. The only thing that Skrawl knew is that it was apparently dangerous enough to be locked away. Skrawl couldn't fathom why if only a human could use it, unless there was something different about this particular piece. He bit his lip slightly as the thought rushed through his head. If this piece of chalk could be weaponized... Then perhaps it could be used for his own ends. Perhaps that Jax zoner knew something, or his partner Jonathan, was it? Yeah they might know.

 _But wait, what if.._

"Before I answer your question, there is something I am curious about." Skrawl spoke as he raised an eyebrow up, looking down at the zoner with uncertainty. "What about that attempt you told me about of getting it?"

Pascal put their arms outward. "What about it? What does that have to do with this?"

"Well, if you tried to take it and you caused a ruckus..." Skrawl narrowed his eyes. "Doesn't this mean that chalk boy would know?"

"Chalk boy? Oh you mean that creator fellow?"

"Yes."

Pascal waved their hand dismissively, turning their head to the side. " _Feh_ , I wouldn't worry about it." They glanced back at Skrawl with a backwards glance. "They wouldn't let word of that leak very far. They are very strict about it." Pascal leaned to one side, putting their hand against the wall. "I highly doubt 'chalk boy' ever heard of it. So if you are thinking he'd be there to try to stop us, you're mistaken." A smile crept along their face. A small chuckle released through their partially open mouth. "You have nothing to worry about."

Skrawl tried to feel some sense of relief at this, but he was still a little nervous. Nonetheless, he nodded his head slowly and said, "I know of one particular zoner that loves to hang out with them. I'm sure the stick figures and the future zoners already know whom I'm talking about. But I bet you that they don't know where to find him." Skrawl pointed to himself, a smile spreading across his face. "I do."

Pascal smiled at this. "And you are going to help us get him?"

Skrawl raised a hand up in gesture. "Well of course I am! After all, this will benefit me too..." Skrawl moved his hands together, tapping the claw tips against each other repeatedly. He did this a few times as he let his smile grow more and more twisted. "I may not get my hands on one of the two children, but I would get the next best thing: their little friend."

Pascal pushed themself away from the wall and proceeded over to Skrawl. "Wait, are you talking about Snap?" Skrawl turned and looked over at them. He remained silent. His expression was enough to give the answer. "Are you sure he is the best one to get? He would be...tough to nab, if you know what I'm saying." Pascal raised their arms up slightly. "Do you think it would even be safe to go after him? Unless you have a suicide wish, I'm sure you don't want to invoke the wrath of those human children."

"Those human children as you call them, they have to sleep at night." Skrawl said with a sneering smile. "They don't stay in ChalkZone all the time; they leave often. And if we were to find a way to take advantage of this..."

Pascal looked towards the ground. They murmured something softly. "At least they remember to leave..." Their voice was barely audible, barely noticeable. But Skrawl was able to pick up on it and his eyes flickered in confusion. What the heck were they talking about? Pascal shook their head, cleared their throat, and turned their attention back to him. "Well anyway, I get what you are saying, Skrawl. I do agree that moving in when he's alone would work. It would help if we knew if those two are gone, though."

"Oh don't worry about that. I can have my Beanie Boys do some patrolling." Skrawl did feel a bit of a pang at that statement. He had almost forgotten about his Beanie Boys. He felt strange at this realization. Was it guilt? He wasn't sure, but he tried to shrug it off. He had other things to worry about right now. "They would be perfect."

At this, Pascal folded their arms to their chest. "Don't they sing that stupid song every time they show up?"

"It's not stupid!" Skrawl shouted as he raised up a fist into the air. He then stopped himself, lowered his hand down, and cleared his throat once more. "I mean... They know how to be quiet, when to be quiet. It's all right. They will not lead zoners straight back here or anywhere honestly. They will be stealthy. I promise."

Pascal's eyes narrowed into slits. "I should hope so. Otherwise, this whole operation could be in jeopardy." Skrawl gave a firm nod of his head. Pascal sighed, closing his eyes. "So your Beanie Boys can help us figure out if Snap is alone or not." They opened their eyes. "What after that? What do you suggest that we do?"

Skrawl said, "I know where that stupid little zoner lives in ChalkZone City. And I know where he tends to go." He didn't bother telling Pascal this was because he did a little stalking before. He had an earlier plan that never came into fruition. But he was glad, now that he was partnered up with someone, that he went through all that trouble. Now it was going to come into good use. "We just need to figure out at what points he is the most vulnerable and then go from there. We'll be able to grab him and no one will..."

"What about we grab him tonight?"

Skrawl froze at this. He stared at Pascal, unsure of how to reply. He licked his lips nervously. He hadn't really thought of doing it tonight, as planning took time. He did not get a good look at Snap's routine and because of that, he did not actually know the zoner's most vulnerable points. It would be better if they waited until tomorrow night before taking action, using this night to study. But then again, what if Snap was not completely consistent? Perhaps they should take action sooner.

It was still a risk. Skrawl might be eager, but even he understood just how much things could mess up if they were to try to go in too quickly. Especially considering that this was Snap they were talking about. The stupid superhero zoner was quite slippery at times, and he knew how to draw attention. _If that happened..._

But he did know that if they did catch him now instead of later, that could help move things along faster. If he had his Beanie Boys figure out if Rudy and Penny were still here and if they weren't, if they were to move in and wait until the right moment... Skrawl gritted his teeth as he gave something of a grin. He could feel excitement surging through his body. Snap might not be the main one that he wanted, but getting him was still a step closer to getting Rudy.

Turning his attention back to Pascal, he nodded his head affirmatively. "That sounds like a good idea...provided that we prepare ourselves."

"Of course. I was not going to rush in." Answered Pascal. They raised an eyebrow. "What, did you think that was what I was going to do?"

Skrawl shook his head, waving his hand from side to side. "No, of course not! But it is agreed, right?" He raised his hand up in gesture, his fingers arching inward towards one another. "We will go after Snap first, and through him, we will be able to get the two creators." Skrawl felt his smile stretch a little further. "I know your...allies have been asking for names of zoners associated with creators. But...don't you think they would much rather have two actual creators? If they are so eager to unleash a bit of frustration, why not against the only two creators that still come to ChalkZone?"

Pascal thought about this for a moment, rubbing their finger along the underside of their chin. They didn't do this for long before words started to flow out of their mouth. "You are correct about that. Gives me even more of a reason to agree with capturing this Snap fellow." They put their hands on their hips. "All right then. It has been decided." Skrawl smiled more broadly as he smirked. "When do you think you can send out your Beanie Boys?"

"I'll take care of that now, actually." Skrawl turned around, beginning to head towards the door. "I'll go and contact them. I'll report back to you when I am done, and we just wait for their response, okay?"

Pascal nodded their head. "That sounds like a plan." They took a step forward. "I do still hope you know what you are doing. I hope this all pans out well."

Skrawl smiled at this. "Oh don't worry, it will. And when it does..." Skrawl couldn't help but chuckle in excitement. "You will have two creators on your plate..." He raised his head upwards a little, his mismatched eyes regarding Pascal silently. "And you will be one step closer to achieving that thing that you want." He stopped for a moment. He then motioned to himself and continued, "..that we want..." He took a couple steps closer. "And when we get what we want..." He raised his hand up, pressing two fingers together. "Everything will.." He clicked his fingers against one another. "... _snap into place_."


	12. Unreasonable Understandable Caution

Snap stretched himself as he opened up his eyes. He felt a sense of relief as his muscles stretched. It was a nice change from the uncomfortable dream that he had been locked in. Only he didn't realize it was a dream until now and... Well at least it was only a dream.

That didn't change the fact that it was rather disturbing. In fact, it was so upsetting that he... _hardly_ remembered the details of it. It was like his brain just did not want him remembering that dream and was doing everything in its power to ensure that this didn't happen. Snap ground his teeth in irritation, but there was little that he could do about that. And besides, it was a new day today. Perhaps things would start to shift back into his favor.

He sat himself up on his bed, his legs hanging over the side. He raised up a hand and he started to rub his face a little, releasing a small yawn. He looked left and right, his eyes blinking slowly as he tried to think of what he should do right now. It took a few more seconds, plus another yawn, before he decided.

Rudy and Penny weren't going to be in here anytime soon, were they? Yeah, it was still pretty early. He looked over at his clock and realized that they wouldn't be here for another... how long... three hours? Yeah, that sounded accurate, if they were to come in here in the morning. Did he really want to sit here and wait three hours for them? The answer, as always, was 'no'. That would be too boring and time would pass by way too slowly. And yet he also didn't want to try to do anything regarding the stick figure zoners until they arrived; what if he were caught? He wouldn't want to worry them.

But there was something else that he could do instead, and that was shop. He did need a few things for his house. Nothing exciting. Just the usual food, like some bread, milk, and eggs. Perhaps a few odds ends here and there. Just regular things to make a day to day living. He often joked to himself that Rudy and Penny must think his life here is filled with more wonder than theirs, when in reality they do a lot of the same stuff. Like shopping for food.

That could be something that he could do while he waited. It wouldn't chew up all of the time, but he could grab some items from the store, which would take at least an hour he would say. Then he could spend the remaining two cooking something for himself. That would also be cathartic; he needed something to help himself relax after that uncomfortable dream.

The zoner soon pushed himself off from the couch and stretched out his back. He could feel a brief crack before he straightened himself up. He walked over to his dresser, pulled a drawer open, and lifted up his usual clothes. It didn't take long to swap his nightgown for his superhero outfit, and then he proceeded towards the door to get out.

When he opened up the door, he could see one of his neighbors coming out. Being the usual friendly zoner that he was, Snap waved at them in greeting.

"Howdy there!"

The zoner in question looked back at him. Suddenly, everything went dark. Snap could feel his body stiffen, his wide eyes watching as the zoner before him constantly flickered between his cheerful neighbor and some twisted, stick figure-like creature with wicked claws. Snap jumped back, raising his hand up in self defense.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Snap shook his head. His vision wavered for a few moments before he finally recognized the neighbor before him. Snap gave a few weak chuckles as he rubbed the back of his head slowly. "I-I'm sorry about that. Didn't sleep too well."

"Well I'm sorry to hear that." His neighbor replied, their hand tapping the newspaper in their other palm. "I do hope you feel better."

"Yeah, thanks." Came Snap's somewhat numbed reply.

As he walked away, he could hear the neighbor say, "Did you hear about that group that attacked Rapsheeba?" Snap paused and stared at his neighbor, his eyebrow raised. The zoner in question seemed to realize their error and they cleared their throat, "Well I mean... of course you have... But did you hear of their other victims?"

Snap could feel his heart skipping a beat at this. " _Other_ victims..?" Snap forced himself to turn around. He gave the zoner a sideways glance, his facial expression furrowing with confusion and concern. "What do you mean...? Are..." He swallowed nervously. "...are you saying there were...others..?"

His neighbor gave a grim nod. "Oh yes. I'm surprised you haven't heard the news." They leaned themself away, their eyes showing a wide variety of emotion just concentrated in that furrowed brow of theirs. "There were a few other attacks similiar to this one that occurred in another nearby city apparently."

Snap's blood ran cold. "Nearby? So these zoners didn't originate from here?"

"I wouldn't say that. The reports indicate that the group is getting bigger." His neighbor shifted their eyes from side to side, as though nervous that they were the next ones to get taken.

"So they're recruiting?"

".. _Yes_."

Snap felt his stomach churn at this. He did have a feeling that maybe the numbers were changing. But still, to get a confirmation that something was going on... Snap didn't want to know just what kind of tricks this cult of stick figures is using to get more and more zoners to join their cause. And to make matters worse: it would not actually be that difficult, given their situation. Just how many more would they end up recruiting by the time they face them?

Snap shook his head, trying to shake off those feelings. He couldn't let himself be too overwhelmed by this. Everything was going to be fine. He would only be without creator help for a few hours. What in the world was going to happen in a few hours.

"I don't want to sound like I'm ditching you, but I do need to head into town to grab some things." Snap said, giving the best smile that he could muster to this zoner. "I'll talk to you later, then!"

"Okay, I'll see you around." His neighbor waved their hand at him. "Oh and I hope I didn't spook you too much with what I told you. I did not mean to do that."

"That's all right. You needed to tell me anyway." Snap said.

His neighbor nodded in agreement. "Better to remain on the up and up, right?"

"Yeah, exactly." Snap said as he turned around. "Bye!" With that he made his way towards the door. He could feel some chills from what he had learned, but he tried not to let the rule his mind for long. For now, they would go on the back burner of his mind. But as soon as Rudy and Penny show up he would tell them what he had learned.

But as he was leaving, he did not see his neighbor's smile turn into a frown. He did not see the glint in their eyes. He did not see them raise up their hand to a small communication device wrapped around their wrist. And he most certainly did not hear his neighbor say, "Target sighted..."

sss

"Target sighted..."

A smile spread along Pascal's face, their lips stretching to accommodate the expression. This was exactly what they were hoping to hear. Though they honestly thought it was going to take longer than this. They thought that perhaps Snap wouldn't have been so easily fooled.

Well, they had been wrong. Not that they were too upset by this. Just made things a heck of a lot easier. It really had been a clever idea after all to start recruiting zoners before they did any capturing of creators in this area. It never could hurt to have more members. And it just so happened that this particular recruitment turned out to be rather... _useful_.

" _Good_." Pascal replied. They kept their voice low. Not to the point of being a whisper, but enough that it was a little hard to hear what they were saying. "Keep an eye on him. Follow him. Do whatever you can to ensure that he doesn't escape your sights."

"And then what, sir?"

Pascal smiled despite the fact that the zoner in question couldn't see them. "I have equipped you with stuff that will help us monitor him."

The zoner asked, "I thought you said Skrawl was taking care of that."

Pascal raised a lip up and released a low growl. "Yeah well I would rather not wait. And besides..." They released a low chuckle. "Isn't this faster?"

The zoner chuckled themself, "Heh...I guess I cannot argue with that logic."

Pascal smirked at this. Indeed, this would be a way to get information faster, and it would enable a more clean capture. They did understand that Skrawl may not be happy to find out about this, but they did not care. Sometimes Skrawl seemed to have the wrong idea about this and at times it just did not seem like he fully understood the sensitivity of time. They had no clue when they could rely on Skrawl to bring forth those minions of his, so Pascal believed it was just better to take matters into their own hands.

At least this way, they would get more information faster and they could more quickly react. They had more trust and faith in the stick figure zoners than they did with Skrawl. Not that it was hard to see why. Skrawl was rather selfish and everything he did had an ulterior motive. And they could just hear Skrawl telling them that they were not much better...

They knew the challenge of getting Skrawl but they did not regret the decision. They did still believe that Skrawl was the piece that they needed in getting what they wanted. They just had to urge him in the right direction, and soon everything should fall into place. It did look like random things and they expected some confusion later on. But it would all be for that end goal. They just needed to ensure that things did not slow down too much and things did not happen too quickly for them to react.

"Sir? Hey, what's my next move?"

Pascal shook their head, snapping back to attention. They quickly realized that they had been a little too quiet for a while. That hadn't been intentional. They gritted their teeth in sheepish embarrassment. At least no one had been here to see that and... Wait, were they alone? A quick look around confirmed that yes, they were indeed alone. They let out a sigh of relief. It would have been bad if their leadership had been shaken. Then how in the world would they accomplish what they need to?

There was no way they were going to give up on this goal that easily. They had waited years to get this, years to get that damn chalk so that everything would return to normal. They looked down at their hand, flexing their fingers, closing tightly a few times. They growled deeply, having long grown disgusted with these hands. They shut their eyes tightly, shaking their clenched fists. One day... They will finally get what they deserved. And no one was going to get in their way. They would make sure of that.

Realizing that they were keeping quiet for a little too long, they refocused their attention on giving out the next set of instructions. Apparently this zoner wanted to know what to do after they got enough information. "I think it will make things easier if you were to lure him somewhere. He trusts you, right?"

"Well kind of... We're neighbors, but I can't say we're _friends_."

"Still, he wouldn't be that suspicious of you, right?"

"Correct..."

"Good, that's all I needed to hear. Just do what you can to get him somewhere that it'll be easy to..."

"Yes, I get it."

Pascal narrowed their eyes at this. They did not appreciate being interrupted like that. But they supposed they could not really blame them for interrupting. It did not really take a genius to know what they wanted. "All right then, get a move on. And I will sit here and wait for a response." They fell silent as they heard the sound of clicking. Slowly, they folded their arms and leaned back towards the wall. This was going to get quite interesting.

sss

Snap adjusted the bag a little, looking down at the few items he's gotten so far. He hadn't gotten much stuff so far, but at least he managed to get some snacks. Not what he came for. But how could he resist them being on sale? And this store, one of his favorites, Blanco's Corner, rarely had sales. So he had scored big here.

After shaking the bag a few times, watching the items inside fly around, he turned his head over and looked at the shop owner. He gave a smile and waved his hand. "Thanks, Blanco!"

The zoner, a white horse, or perhaps a stripeless zebra, waved back at him. "See you around later!"

Snap smiled back at Blanco before turning around and walking away. His eyes remained focus on the bag for a few moments. He still could not believe how much was on sale today. Was Blanco shifting inventory or something? Or perhaps he was just in a really good mood? Either way, more snacks for him. You could never have too much snacks, as far as he was concerned. These should last a while. Well, provided that he didn't tell Blocky about it, anyway.

He walked out of the store, hearing the doors swinging behind him, and he stepped down onto the sidewalk. He spent a few more seconds staring longingly at the snacks before he lifted his head up. He needed to focus on getting stuff that he actually needed now. He was lucky that he didn't go too overboard earlier; he did actually have some money left. Should be good enough if he could find a place that had items on sale. _But what were the odds of..._

Snap lifted up his head and he stared in the direction in front of him. There were a few stores lined up around here. Next to each other, and all of them appeared to have 'on sale' signs. Was he imagining it? He took a closer look, moving forward step by step. He was quickly able to determine that, no, he had been correct. They were all saying 'on sale'. The signs were all there.

But how strange... He didn't recall seeing these shops here before, and he had been living ChalkZone City for... Okay so he didn't actually live here. He slept here; he spent most of his time outside. But he still came here quite often and he would have thought that he'd seen it all by now. Then again, this city was quite large and perhaps he did overlook a few things.

Yeah, that was probably the case. He shrugged his shoulders a little as he proceeded to walk over. He might as well see what these things were about. Perhaps they would have what he needed.

Instead of walking in, Snap first decided it would be best if he paced around on the outside. He walked passed all three shops that he was seeing, and looked in through the window or around any sign that he could see outside of the 'on sale' stuff. He made mental notes in his brain so that he would remember just what these particular stores were selling. It didn't take him long before he figured out the answer to that.

First store appeared to be selling silverware and other cupboard items. The second store looked like it sold food. And the third one sold different types of clothing. Snap stopped after pacing for a little while longer and pondered just what he should do about this. He could just go to his usual stores as he knew they would have the things that he wanted and needed. But these places have sales going on and they could be very new. He just remembered that often new businesses would open up and... Well, perhaps he would be the first customer. Maybe these are 'first day sale' stuff. It sounded pretty odd at first, but he'd seen similar things here.

He soon made his decision. It didn't make much sense to go all the way to the other side of town to get his items, when he could just come right here. He had used up more of his time than he wanted to back in that first store. This would save him time, and look at that, it was very close to the edge of town anyway. It was a straight shot to his home. This should be pretty simple and easy.

Snap made his way over towards the first store. He put his hand against the glass door and pushed against it hard. He could feel it wobbling a little, as though it was only loosely hooked into the wall. He ignored this, as well as the squeaking sound that it made, as he came into the building completely and, his hands on his hips, took a look around.

This wasn't too shabby of a place, he had to admit. It was clear that things were still being set up. Some areas looked a bit too plain while others were just stared, but there were still boxes laying around. He was wondering just why whoever owned this place would even open up right now if they weren't ready. But oh well, he wasn't going to question it. He turned his attention to the area that looked finished. He made his way over, his eyes focusing on the bowls and cups that were placed and apparently available for purchase.

These looked so pretty... Snap almost reached over and picked them up, but fearing that he might ruin them, he stopped himself and kept some distance away. But his eyes still wouldn't leave, his eyes moving along and absorbing the details.

Whoever had made this, or even drawn them, sure knew how to implement so many intricate details. Cups and bowls made out of gem-like materials or minerals, quartz and pearls, with intricate details carved into them. Even just looking at them, Snap could tell just how smooth they were. It was to the point where some of them had rough ridges around certain places, mostly the handles, and it was obvious that this was to ease the difficulties of picking them up. Otherwise, they would easy fall. He imagined a lot of this stuff was fragile, too.

Snap walked through the aisle slowly, seeing his reflection dancing off the cups and bowls before him. He couldn't stop himself and he ended up having a little bit of fun. He started to make some faces, stretching his lips outward and distorting his eyes and just overall being a real goofball. He chuckled to himself before realizing what he was doing. He shook his head and he proceeded to walk forward some more.

Snap flinched when he noticed a bit of light shining in his eyes. He raised his arm up, blocking it, and then looked over at where it came from. He quickly noticed the sparkly tall cup located at the top, positioned just in front of one of the shop's largest lights. The light rays bounced around inside and seemed to magnify a little. But what caught his attention to most is how colorful the bright light was. It seemed to disperse a little, showing a rainbow of coloration, almost look like a part of the cup.

Snap couldn't look away from this. It was just so...pretty. He wanted this. No, he needed this. What other zoner would be able to say that he had something like _this?_ And if he got it today, then he could get it for a lot cheaper. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of how jealous some of the zoners were going to be. And Rapsheeba would love it. Yes, this was the perfect gift to get for her after what she had gone through.

Snap grabbed onto the cup carefully, both hands pressing up firmly against it. He cradled it like it was a little child, knowing full well what would happen if he let this thing fall. He then made his way over to what appeared to be a large desk. He assumed this was where the sales would be made, though he didn't see any sort of machine here. How strange... Had the zoner in question forgotten to set it up?

Nonetheless, the blue and white zoner, holding the item in one arm, tucked away against its crook, went over to the desk. Once he got there, he rang the bell, hitting it as hard as he could. He flinched at how loud it was. He didn't expect it to be like that. He flinched and took a few steps back. And then he just stood there, waiting in complete silence, for someone to come over and do business with him.

It took longer than he would have liked, but soon he could hear someone approaching. Step by step, a zoner made their way over. Snap could hear a few grunts. Then he could see the shadow of hair flapping in the wind. Then he could hear the sound of footsteps getting closer and closer. Soon he could see a zoner emerging from the shadows, pushing away cloths as they made their way towards the front.

"Sorry about that..." The zoner said, adjusting her hair a little. "I got a little caught up and..." She quickly shook her head and gave a nervous smile. "Oh I'm kinda letting my mind wander again, eh? Sorry again about that." She cleared her throat, interlocking her fingers together. "How may I help you, sir?"

Snap didn't answer. He couldn't answer. All he could do was just stare at the zoner.

The shop owner tilted her head to one side. "Sir? Is something wrong?"

"I-I..." Snap licked his lips slowly. He could feel bile rising up inside of him. He could hear his heart pounding a little harder in his chest, his mind spinning in circles. He put his hand to his chest, struggling to control his breathing. But it seemed like the more he tried to fight it, the worse that it got. "I..."

He hadn't expected the zoner to be a stick figure. Well, shouldn't he have expected that? Most zoners here were stick figures. But for some reason, it just came as a shock to him. He couldn't control himself. He wasn't able to stop the nervousness from taking over, from spreading across his very core, through all of his muscles. His nerves were constantly firing warning signals, telling him that he should run and get away. He was becoming so sweaty that he was surprised that he didn't drop the item in his hands.

He didn't know how long he remained like this. It could have been for several minutes or a few seconds. But he didn't know nor did he care. His mind was too locked in fear to really notice what was going on around him. For all he knew, someone else might be coming in and they would see how he was acting and...

Snap gulped as he took a small step back. " _I_... I think I left my wallet at home..." He lied shakingly, gritting and seething through his teeth. "I will be back..." A lie, but would this zoner really know that? Would she really remember him? Probably not.

"Oh..." The stick figure zoner looked disappointed. But she didn't try to stop him. "Okay then..." She nodded her head slowly. She motioned to the cup. "Just put that back and return when you find your wallet..."

Snap nodded his head curtly. He placed the item back on the shelf and he quickly left the store. He flinched when he heard the door hitting itself shut a bit more loudly than he had expected. He shuddered briefly before forcing himself to walk away from the store.

He had no idea what that was about. He didn't think that he would react like that. A part of him felt a little guilty for what he had done. That particular stick figure zoner had not really done anything to earn that sort of treatment. Hell, she was probably very new here and he was the first zoner she might have interacted with here. To be treated like that... He was tempted to slap himself in the face.

But could anyone blame him? There was that situation with the stick figure zoners going on lately and if he wasn't careful, he might end up getting hurt. He couldn't let his guard down and he had to keep his eyes open, peeled. His neighbor was one thing; a stick figure that he had known long enough. But this zoner that he had just met? How did he knew that she wasn't in cahoots with that group?

He shook the thought out of his head. He should probably get going to the next shop. Perhaps he would have better luck in there. And he was getting hungry and he did want to save the food he had already bought. Maybe he could buy something to eat at this food store. Licking his lips, he put his hand to the door and pushed it clean open, rushing in faster than he had with the first store.

For a few brief moments, his racing mind was pacified with the sight of all the snacks and foods available. Almost instantly, he could see stacks of candy, crackers, cookies, all sorts of stuff, right in the center. And off to the sides, he could see a refrigerated section chock full of ice cream and milk and ice pops... Just looking at it was making him hungry. And if this stuff was on sale, too, he...

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Snap swiveled his head over to talk to the owner of the store. He noticed that they were busy rummaging through the back. It was likely that they didn't even notice him yet. Licking his lips slowly, he proceeded forward step by step. This time, he tried not to grab anything until he spoke with the owner first. Despite his scare with the last store, he had a feeling that this would would go much better. He just needed to remain calm and just...

But before he could even open his mouth, he noticed the zoner moving their head and he caught a glimpse of what they were.

 _Another stick figure zoner._

Snap tried to fight against the emotions whirling through him. He tried to get himself to calm down, tried to remind himself that he wasn't in any danger. Yet he couldn't step his brain's reactions, pumping adrenaline throughout his body. He opened his mouth wider and struggled to breathe. This continued steadily for a while until he just could not take it any longer. He turned and he instantly ran off out of the store, not caring if he was noisy upon leaving or not.

He leaned himself against the wall between the two remaining stores. He panted heavily, struggling to calm himself down. His bulging eyes looked upwards. He noticed some of the zoners were looking at him strangely, but nobody said a word. He ignored them, trying to focus entirely on calming himself down.

How could he have done that again? How could he have let himself be so easily... He tried not to slap himself and he tried to press on. He needed to learn to control himself. He needed to remind himself that not every single dang stick figure was out to get him. Most of them were friendly, or at least neutral. It wasn't like he was going to have some kind of net tossed upon him or anything. Licking his lips nervously, he pressed on forward, heading towards the final store. Maybe he would finally have more luck.

 _Oh how mistaken that he was_... He didn't even get to the door before he could feel his heart tightening in his chest, exploding with emotion. He could feel his breath hanging in his mouth and he found it almost impossible to breathe. He remained like this for a few seconds before he forced himself to keep walking. Each step was more rigid than the last.

He looked over at the store, and he quickly realized that he just couldn't do it. There was no way that he would be able to do this. The very thought of going in there at all was enough to make his heart race. His brain was like a magnet and it was driving to push him away from that store.

And away he did go. His feet propelled him away, forcing him into something of a brisk walk. He overheard some zoners questioning just what the heck he was doing, but he paid little attention to them. He just focused on trying to get away from those stores, away from those zoners. He would just try to get those items later. He didn't need them right now anyway. And Rudy and Penny would be here soon, right? Perhaps he should just head back to his place and wait for around when they would arrive. And then he'd go up to meet them.

Soon, the blue superhero zoner was on his way back to his place. He was glad that he was near the edge like he noticed earlier, and he knew that it wouldn't take him long to get home. He was going to feel such relief as soon as he walked in. Never before had he been so excited to return home.

He paused for a moment and looked around. He could have sworn that he was being followed. Something had whizzed by his head, he thought. But when he did not see anything, he scratched his head for a few moments and then just shrugged. Must be his overactive imagination. Oh well. He turned around and he continued walking back towards his house. As he did, he took a moment to stare up towards the never-moving Day Zone sun. He released a small sigh as a single thought went through his mind.

He hoped that Rudy and Penny would get here quickly.

sss

"Did you see him?"

"Yes, boss. He's on his way home."

"Good, follow him. You know what to do."

"Yes, sir."

Skrawl pressed the button on his walkie talkie to turn it off. He had been waiting for a response from his Beanie Boys for a while now. He wasn't sure what took them so long. He growled in irritation. Perhaps it had been a good thing that Pascal sent out their own group of zoners to follow Snap. At this rate, that little zoner would have gotten away long before his Beanie Boys would have found him.

He forced a small sigh through his open mouth. He shouldn't really be too hard on them. They usually do a good job. At least, some of them, and those were the ones he had sent out. But they never did do something like this before. They didn't attempt to try to figure out where Snap went, precisely his destinations. So it was understandable that they wouldn't get it right so fast.

He did quickly realize just how much credit he was giving to them. Some might say that he was being hypocritical, that if he could be this understanding with these Beanie Boys, why not with others. But the thing was, he trusted a handful of his Beanie Boys more than he did most other zoners. No, all other zoners. He had lived with them. They had helped him out. He would take their word over anyone else's. He didn't think that he could just push them aside that easily, no matter how much they messed up.

Skrawl forced himself up and he made his way towards the hallway. He was curious about what kind of progress Pascal's group was making. His Beanie Boys would follow and make sure that Snap did not try to get away. But this was to be a 'group effort', right? If he wanted Pascal to continue believing that they were a team, it would be best if he ensured they all did this together, correct? And besides, the more they sent to capture the little blue demon, the more likely they would have in ensuring his complete capture. Snap might have some way of getting away from the Beanie Boys, but would he have that same level of luck with zoners he didn't know?

And apparently, spies had been stationed in various locations in the city. It seemed at first almost like overkill. Skrawl wondered why they couldn't make it simple. But then he realized just what rode on this capture, and he recalled the desperation of these zoners. It all suddenly made sense.

"Ah, hello Skrawl..." Came the familiar voice of Pascal as Skrawl entered this are. He kept himself silent as Pascal was walking towards one of their desks, setting down what looked to be a cup. "I've been expecting you."

Skrawl paused at this, tilting his head to one side. "You have?"

"Oh of course!" Pascal nodded their head. "I know you just had a conversation with one of your Beanie Boys."

Skrawl felt a flash of something strike him. Gritting his teeth, he took a small step back. "How did you know?" He realized that it was going to sound stupid, but he couldn't help but blurt out, "Are you psychic?" He instantly regretted saying that. _Psychic... Feh_ , why in the world did he say something that stupid?

Pascal's chuckle made him regret it more. "Oh no.. That was not it at all. It was much more simple than that." Pascal raised their hand up in gesture. "I could hear you from over here. You were not very quiet."

Skrawl blinked a few times. "You could hear me...?"

Pascal replied, "Oh yes." They lifted up the cup and drank from it slowly. Licking their lips as the fluid dribbled down their throat, they continued, "So your Beanie Boys finally located Snap, eh?"

"Yeah, they did..." Skrawl tried not to let himself feel to creeped out by this information he just got. He tried not to think of how much his conversations had been listened in on. He just concentrated on focusing on the topic at hand. "So are you going to try to nab him before he can reach his house?"

Pascal swallowed another sip and set the cup down. They shook their head slowly. "No, that would just give him a chance to get help. Someone might hear his screams." They looked up intently at Skrawl, their tongue moving over their lips slowly. "Best to make him think that everything is fine and then ambush him in his own home."

Skrawl frowned at this. "But what if he tries to.."

"Call for help? We can easily stop him from reaching any phone." Sneered Pascal. "That is not a problem." They looked down at their fingers, studying them like they were the most amazing thing. "Then once we grab him, we can make sure that he doesn't speak a word." They gave Skrawl a sideways glance. "I presume that you would be more than happy to do something about that?"

Skrawl blinked at this before slowly smirking. "Oh sure, I can do that, no problem." Though he understood that by silence, they did not mean anything that would make it hard to interrogate the little brat. But that didn't stop Skrawl from amusing himself with thoughts of tearing out Snap's vocal cords. He could feel his mouth corners stretching up a little more than he wanted. But it wasn't like Pascal knew just what he was thinking about.

Pascal simply smiled, showing no indication that they could read minds. Just like Skrawl had suspected. "I'm so glad to hear that. Since you seem to know him well enough..." Pascal pushed themself up from the table. The cup, now empty save for a few dripping spots, remained against the table's surface. "...I'm sure you could shut him up faster than we can."

"Oh trust me..." Skrawl sneered, releasing a chuckle. "It will be very easy for me to ensure that the little fucker does not utter a single word until he gets here." Skrawl lifted up a finger, the sharp tip glinting in the light of the room. "I doubt he will remain quiet with me around."

Of course, he kept silent of the fact that chances are, Snap would be too busy yelling at him than actually being silent. But it wasn't like Pascal needed to know that. All Pascal needed to get, to understand, is that he would ensure that Snap would not be heard, and once they got him here, Snap would not be able to keep an oath of silence. There were way of making him talk; it was just a matter of figuring out the right ones to use.

Skrawl just hoped that he didn't get carried away, like how Craniac had before that nearly cost them their mission. He hoped that he did not have a little too much fun and jeopardize everything. He doubted that he would. He was smarter than Craniac, which was ironic, considering how Craniac was supposed to be a super intelligent robot. But considering how he had acted lately, knowing that he was still reeling from the feelings he felt when he had to be rescued by _Rudy..._

Skrawl shook those feelings out of his head. He narrowed his eyes in determination. Since Rudy was not available, when Snap was captured, he would use him as his personal venting tool. What Rudy was going to suffer, he would make sure that Snap received it instead. He smiled inwardly at this thought. That would be a much more...fitting punishment.

sss

Snap fumbled with the doorknob, struggling to get it open. It took a little while before he managed to succeed. He held onto it tightly, his hands sweaty. But his gloves should be... Oh why wasn't this working? Why couldn't he get the damn thing open? He continued to struggle for a while, and it seemed like he was going nowhere with this.

But then, finally, it was turning. He felt himself sigh with relief as the door opened up. He could feel his hear racing and he felt adrenaline rushing through him. He took in a few jagged breaths before he slipped himself inside his home as quickly as possible. He slammed the door behind him and he locked the door tightly. Only then could he let himself pant more steadily, letting the emotions dribble down from him. He took in a long, deep breath, exhaled, and then...

Snap thought he saw something flash in the corner of his eyes. He whirled his head over and tried to see what it was. But when he saw that there was nothing there, he looked left and right constantly. Still nothing. Had he really just been seeing things? If there was nothing there, shouldn't he feel more relaxed? Why did he feel scared? Why did he still feel as though _someone_ was _watching_ him...?

 _Oh what the fuck_... Was he seriously going to remain fearful like this forever? He had chickened out before. He had fled the city just because of a few stick figures. What in the world would the others think? Anyone who saw him...

He felt a pang of guilt at the thought. He hadn't meant to act like that. He hadn't meant to act like some kind of a...a douchebag... That was the only word that he could think of to call himself right now. A douchebag. He looked like some kind of judgmental jerk face and he hadn't meant to be like that. Those stick figures hadn't done anything to deserve that kind of reaction from him. What the hell was he thinking?

He released a sigh. Well, there was nothing that he could do about it now. He was already home and he couldn't bring himself to go back there. Not right now. Maybe he will do something at night, when it was time for sleep. Maybe he would try to make things right. Apologize to them and try to start over. He needed to get over this silly fear of stick figures.

Er, no, he was not fearful of stick figures. He was just.. _Oh gawd..._

Snap gripped his head with his free hand, his other hand getting tired of holding the bag. He looked down at it. Even through his pounding headache, he did feel some sense of relief that he managed to get himself something. It wasn't all that he wanted. He had hoped for something more than just some snacks. But oh well. At least this was something and he could put it away for safe keeping. He could always go out later and at least try to get something.

But what if he reacted the same away again? What if he... He shook his head a few times. He needed to stop thinking about that. He was only going to make things worse if he kept this up. He was not going to make any progress if he... Snap released another sigh, feeling some of his energy drain out of him.

Snap walked towards his kitchen slowly. He could feel his leg muscles hardening and it took a bit more force than he would have liked in order to get to his destination. Once he did, he set the bag down on the table. Then he proceeded towards the sink and grabbed a cup, filling it with water. He leaned his head back, put the tip to his lips, and drank the water. It dribbled down his neck and stained his shirt. He placed it back down. The feeling of cool liquid in his throat did help him feel a little better. But still, he couldn't help but feel as though...

He noticed something odd in the reflection. Some kind of discoloration. Odd, he didn't recall ever drinking something that was red recently. Not with this cup. Snap grabbed onto it and picked it up again. And when he did, the redness vanished. This made Snap's mind reel back, like a fishing rod's pole being wound back. He gritted his teeth, his heart rate speeding up. Was it possible that... He swallowed nervously as he moved the cup back to its original position. The red spot came back. Snap moved the cup around slowly, and the red spot moved depending on what he did. This caused something to click in his mind.

 _Oh no... Was it... No..._

Snap forced himself to turn his head. It took every ounce of will power that he had, everything that he got. And soon he was able to see a brief flash, some color moving over his eyes for a second, and then something grabbing on his shoulder. Snap didn't have any time to react before he was rammed up against the kitchen counter's edge, the tip of it pressing painfully against his back.

Snap looked up and, in the first few seconds, he registered the angry face of what was apparently, very obvious, a stick figure zoner. He did not recognize this particular stick figure, however. And yet the sight of them was enough to make his heart sink, turning into ice. He opened his mouth and tried to speak, tried to reason with this zoner. But he didn't get a word out edgewise. He could feel his mouth suddenly being covered by the stick figure's hand, the fingers pressing painfully against his mouth. Snap squirmed a little, which only drove the fingers in more deeply.

The stick figure zoner leaned in closely, their eyes narrowing into slits. Snap widened his eyes and cringed back. He could feel the zoner's breath against his face. The stick figure regarded him with contempt, their lip curling back into a snarl. Then they spoke. Snap thought his heart would stop beating from how deep this voice penetrated his soul.

"Make one sound, Snap... And I will rip off your mouth..."

Snap felt his heart skip a beat at this threat. He was surprised that his heart could even still continue to beat at all at this.

"Well now, that seems a little harsh..."

Snap felt his body stiffen at that voice. He wanted to struggle to see the approaching zoner, the shadow casting over them. But he dare not move. He feared that anything he tried to do would result in this pissed off red zoner fulfilling their threat.

But that was fine. It was not like it was necessary for him to look over to see who it was. He recognized that voice anywhere. And when he heard the chuckling, that only confirmed it more. He tried not to let himself get too overly energetic and tried to force himself to remain still. He resorted to using his eyes to look around, trying to find a trace of the zoner approaching. Soon he could see the familiar teal green, the antenna, the yellow teeth, and of course, those hideous mismatched eyes.

"S-Skrawl..." Snap managed to squeak out. He instantly tensed up his body, expecting to get hurt for speaking up at all. But though the red zoner was preparing to hurt him, Skrawl raised up his hand, stopping them. Snap did not feel all that comforted by this fact.

Skrawl moved in closer towards Snap. His eyes regarded him coldly, very similar to the red zoner's expression. Only...Skrawl looked a little too happy to see him. Snap couldn't really describe the look in his eyes. It was just... a horrific satisfaction, like Skrawl had achieved some terrible goal that they have been trying to prevent all this time. But what could that have been? What could Skrawl have done that...

...he had caught him...

Snap felt his chest tighten up in a chilling realization. He couldn't believe it took him this long to make this connection. He felt his mouth dropping open, or at least it would have if this red zoner was not holding his mouth so firmly. He wanted to say something else, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. All he could do was just stare in horror, his blood going even colder, waiting for Skrawl to speak more.

"I know you probably had plans... It is a shame that they had to be interrupted." Skrawl raised his hand to his side in gesture, shaking his head slowly, acting as though this really did depress him. Snap narrowed his eyes to show his displeasure. Skrawl scoffed a little, lifting his head up higher. "But you don't have to worry. We already have something planned for you. And trust me..." Skrawl took a few steps closer. "You will be so focused on that...you won't have anything else that you can do..."

Snap felt his mind race at this, his heart pounding in his chest. He tried to breathe tried to move. But all he could do was just look at Skrawl in horror, his mind going wild. He couldn't let... No.. He just could not remain still... Adrenaline pumped through him, his trembling body getting a surge of energy. And with that rush he managed to squeeze himself free.

"Get back here, you little...!" Shouted the red zoner.

Oddly, Skrawl didn't say anything. Normally he would have at least... But why should he think about that now? The frightened zoner instead tried to focus his entire attention on just getting away from here. He had to get to safety. He had to get out of his house and try to...

He did not get far. He soon found out the reason why Skrawl did not try to stop him. For there, standing in his own home, were other zoners..

 _Stick figure zoners..._

Snap skidded to a stop, staring out for a moment as he saw some still crawling out of hiding spots. He couldn't stop looking left and right. He couldn't stop his mind from aching, panic spreading throughout. If he had pupils, they would have shrunk a this point and there would have been nothing that he could have...

Snap grunted as he felt someone slamming into him. He hit the ground painfully, biting his own tongue, causing it to bleed. He laid there for several moments before he looked behind him. He had expected to see the red zoner, but when he saw who it was, his heart nearly stopped beating.

" _Y-You...?!_ "

It was his neighbor. Snap couldn't believe it. His neighbor was in on this...?

"Heheh...sorry Snap..." His neighbor looked down at him. Their face was contorted with a strange expression, one that he had trouble following. But somehow it still radiated with all kinds of terrible thoughts, making Snap unable to stop a small release of a whimper. "But sometimes, life is just complicated..."

Snap stared at his traitorous neighbor in disbelieve for several moments, unable to comprehend just what the hell had happened. He licked his lips and swallowed nervously. He then looked around the room, seeing the other zoners approaching. And on the outside through the windows, he could see the Beanie Boys. Even if he had gone outside...

"It's still a shame..."

Snap looked up at Skrawl.

"Things could have gone differently. If only your human protectors were here..." Skrawl sneered. Snap's heart stung. Skrawl continued, "But don't worry. You will have plenty more to worry about where you are going. Care to join us, Snap?"

The superhero zoner didn't have time to reply before he was quickly surrounded by the other zoners. Their stares penetrated his soul and he shuddered at the sight of them. He then saw one of them coming over with what looked like a burlap sack. He struggled to get free, but it was of no use. Before he was able to stop them, he could feel himself becoming encased in darkness.


	13. Something Amiss

Penny stirred her fork around the final piece of salsa scrambled eggs that her mother made. She enjoyed its flavor as it slid down her throat. She licked her lips. She would have normally asked for more, and it was _so_ tempting to do that... And yet she knew that she could not. No today.

There was still more to be done in ChalkZone. They still had to find out more information about those stick figure zoners. They hadn't yet figured out just how they were going to find out anything. There had to be some methodology to this. Penny was well aware that they couldn't just walk up to random stick figures and ask if they heard of this group. That would sound way too accusatory and would create problems later on.

So instead, she knew that they had to focus on other strategies. The best one that she heard of was what Rudy had suggested, but was not able to implement right away. And that was the thing with the small spy bots. She imagined that if they drew a few of those and let them run for day, without any of the zoners knowing, they might find out more about that group.

Admittingly, she realized just how awful this sounded. It was a rather unethical way of doing this. _To do something like this behind the backs of so many zoners_... She could just see zoners rising up in anger. One thing that she and Rudy had always promised the zoners is the refusal to do something in secret to gain knowledge. They never went behind the entire populace's back to spy on them. Heck, if they had ever tried that, Snap would have called them out on it. As loyal as he was to them, all that loyalty did not negate the fact that he would be pretty, and understandably, upset at this sort of act.

The only time that she and Rudy would consider spying like that was if they were going after an enemy. Someone they could see, someone they knew was a threat, and could go after without worry of what the other zoners might think. They were less uptight if they were going after only one or a couple zoners this way if it meant protecting them. But for them to go out of their way to spy on zoners on such a large scale...

Penny knew that she was going to hate herself for doing this. And she knew Rudy was going to as well. None of them would ever have wanted to do something like this. None of them would want to betray the zoners like this. Neither of them had...

She needed to get a hold of herself. She needed to understand, get it through her head, that she and Rudy were not actually betraying the zoners. They were releasing a spy device behind their backs, yes. But they were focusing on locating some of the stick figures that associate themselves with that group. Just a handful would be enough. Hell, even finding one was going to help them in some shape or form. While the zoners would be angry if they found out about these spy devices, surely they would understand once they found out what they had been used for, right?

She thought for a moment on how this should be handled. Should she and Rudy inform the zoners of these spy bots so they weren't surprised? Or should they cover them up? Which would be the best path to take?

It did not take her long to realize that hiding the information would be the best option. She wasn't thrilled with having to lie if anyone asked. But at the same time, what advantage would she and Rudy have telling the truth in this situation? They literally had no idea which zoners were trustworthy at the moment. Spelling out the information would only make it more likely for their plans to get fucked up. That would not benefit anyone. Even less for the zoners than for them. So hiding the truth plus lying equaled the best strategy for now.

Would they confess to the zoners after? Well sure. She didn't see reason why not. Or even why. Maybe it would be best to just not say anything at all. But could she live with that guilt? Penny could feel her stomach churning at the thought. It was not something that she wanted to think about. Well, she and her friends could discuss it when the time came.

Speaking of which, she should really get going. They would be expecting her soon. So rapidly finishing her meal, Penny set the fork down and headed upstairs. No need to tell her mom what she was doing; her mom always assumed that she went upstairs to study during the weekend. And yeah, she does, but there were other things going on. Things that her mother, hopefully, would never find out about.

Penny was soon in her bedroom, faster than usual given the urgency of the situation. She pulled the magic chalk out of her pocket, raised it up, and immediately headed towards the chalkboard before her. She took a moment and paused to look to see if her mother as anywhere near her room. She was not surprised but still relieved by the sound of silence. Then she drew a portal and headed into ChalkZone.

Upon entering, it was a straight shot to where Rudy's portal would be. She was thankful that there wasn't much in the way of getting there. Just a few hills and sparse trees. Maybe the occasional zoner or too. But really nothing that was that big of a deal. Nothing that would slow her down. She would get there in no time.

But she couldn't help but notice just how... _quiet_ everything was. She wasn't really sure why. Not that this place had a lot of zoners, but it did still have life. So why did it suddenly feel like it was dead? Why were none of the flying chalk creatures making their calls? Why couldn't she hear any zoners having fun in the distance? What was going on? Or was she just overreacting? Not like she ever ran into too many zoners on her way to see Rudy. The situation with those stick figures was messing with her head.

Perhaps that was it? Maybe the zoners had heard about what was going on and decided to hide? Were they afraid that they would get targeted out here, where they wouldn't have much cover? That was very well possible. Her blood ran cold at the thought of such an attack. But she and Rudy were both relieved as they had not yet gotten any report on another attack.

Yet they could not let their guards go down too low. Penny realized that there was a chance of other zoners being attacked in the past. Who knows how long this group had been around? Who knows how many they might have attacked before. There was really no way of finding out unless someone confessed to them what happened. And she had her doubts that they would, out of fear of this group going after them again.

She tried to settle down her thoughts when she could see Rudy in the distance. He was leaning against some kind of pole. She guessed he had drawn that for the sole purpose of having something to lean on. He had his arms folded and his face was a little contorted. It seemed pretty obvious that something was troubling his mind.

And it didn't take a genius to know what he was bothered by.

"Hey Rudy..." Penny spoke up in a soft yet clear voice.

Rudy lifted his head and stared over at Penny. "Oh, hello." He said. He watched her approach for a few seconds and then added in, "Have you seen Snap?"

Penny stopped in her tracks. She stared at Rudy in confusion. Why was he asking that question? Normally Snap would already be with Rudy by the time she caught up to hem. Why would Rudy ever need to...

And that's when it dawned on her. She looked around slowly to confirm it to herself. And then she stared intently at Rudy, taking in slow, trembly breaths. It struck her like a freight train.

Snap was not here.

How did she not notice that? How could she have not seen that one of her best friends wasn't here? It should have been so obvious, but she had been so focused on getting over here, so focused on wanting to talk with Rudy about how to go about those spy bots, that she had taken Snap's presence as a given and just expected him to be there. She didn't think to consider the idea of him being late.

That's all it was, really. Snap was late. Not that it hasn't happened before. There were other incidents in the past where this had occurred. She wondered if Rudy had forgotten about that. Very well possible. She could correct him, but seeing how worried he was, she didn't want to make him further upset. So she opted to say something else.

"Have you asked anyone if he was around?"

Rudy shook his head. "I usually just wait for him here. Normally he would be here the minute I step out. _But_..." Rudy's voice trailed off for a moment, gritting his teeth as he looked away. "Yeah I know there are plenty of times that he isn't here. But considering how urgent this was... I thought he would have been waiting here all night or something."

Penny nodded her head slowly. "Understandable. It is a little strange. But it might be nothing." Penny raised her hand in gesture. "Why don't we ask some of our friends? Snap might be with them."

"Yeah... Sounds like a good idea." Rudy pushed himself away from the pole to join Penny's side. "Let's try Blocky first."

There was a silent agreement between the two of them. Without having to say another word to each other, the two children were off, moving through ChalkZone's landscape, looking for their flat, square-like friend. Exactly where he was going to be was anyone's guess, but they first tried Candy Cane Forest. As they both recalled, didn't Blocky like getting breakfast here? Seemed like a very good place to do so.

It would take a little while to get there. It was a bit of a distance from the portals. But it wasn't like it was that far away honestly. And the issue of long transportation was resolved simply by drawing themselves some electronic bikes to ride. Once they were on these, getting over to the Candy Cane Forest quickly was a breeze.

They could soon see the Candy Cane Forest in the distance. Its tall white and red banded 'tree's were hard to miss. Not really all that thick, but still a striking enough feature that they could pick up on it right away. Revving their bikes, they moved over even faster, trying to close the distance quickly and get into the forest to try to find Blocky.

Thankfully, they didn't even have to get all the way into the forest before they could see a shape rushing over, a few grunts and coughs, and then a yelp. Not a painful one; as soon as they heard the sound of a bucket falling, they knew instantly what it was.

Turning their heads, they weren't at all surprised to see Blocky laying on the ground in the distance, up one of the hills. He had a bucket laying near him. The thing had been tipped over against the ground, a bit of amber-colored fluid that was recognizable as syrup spilling out and staining the ground.

Blocky let out a groan as he pushed himself up with his hands. "Darnit... This shouldn't be that difficult..." He grumbled as he got up shakenly to his feet. He shook his head as he reached down to grab the bucket.

"Hey, Blocky!" Rudy called out, waving his head.

Blocky immediately looked up and, upon seeing the two, gave a smile and said, "Oh hello, Rudy and Penny! What brings you here?"

"We need to ask you a question." Penny explained. "We would really appreciate your help."

"Help...?" Blocky's expression slightly changed. It was as though he picked up on Penny's tone of voice, her uncertainty. When he spoke again, his voice was softer and more cautious. "Like...what kind of help? What question did you want to ask?"

Rudy did not waste anytime. "Have you seen Snap?"

At this, Blocky just sort of...stared at them. His eyes blinked slowly, and he definitely looked confused. He looked between the two of them, as though he thought that one of them was joking a little, or asking him a trick question. This was odd in of itself as they did this before and he never looked at them strangely like this. And the longer they carried on like this, in such silence, watching Blocky continue to just not respond, the more worried they started to become. Just what the heck did all of this mean?

It took a while before Blocky even tried to reply. And when he did, his voice was a bit lower than normal. That was already a worrying sign. But things got even more worrisome when he spoke the next line.

"You mean... _you don't know_...?"

Rudy and Penny looked at each other in confusion. They gritted their teeth, emotions rushing through their mind. They could just hear each other's various unspoken questions, their stomachs twisting as they tried to figure out what the heck all of this meant. They soon looked back and stared at Blocky, licking their lips slowly before they finally managed to say anything.

"What...do you mean...?" Rudy asked carefully. "We were in the Real World. We... We couldn't have known..." He raised his hands up at his sides. "...anything that went on here."

Penny took a step forward. "What haven't we heard, Blocky?"

Blocky looked towards the ground. There was an uncomfortable aura that rose up all around them. Everything seemed to go dark all at once. There was a heaviness that pushed down upon them, and the two kids had to almost struggle to keep themselves standing up. Then Blocky looked at them, his previous happiness replaced with a grim expression, sorrow etching itself into everything, even the simple lines that made his simple shape. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this... _But_..."

"We need to know." Penny interjected. She reached out and she put a hand on Blocky's shoulder. "I know it must be hard to say this, but we do still need to know what happened. Please... Just... Tell us what.."

Blocky suddenly shouted, "Snap has joined that group! The one that attacked Rapsheeba!"

Penny yanked her arm back, staring at Blocky in horror. She could hear Rudy gasping at her side. "Wh-What...? You can't be..." She took a step back, her mind refusing to accept what she had been told. "Th-There's no way that..."

Blocky looked at the ground. "I'm so sorry."

Rudy and Penny exchanged looks of horror, their blood having turned to ice.

sss

Snap let out a grunt as he was forced up against the chair. He could feel his breath being forced out of his mouth from how hard he was whammed. He felt his head jerk forward in a near whiplash, happening so fast. He seethed as he kept his head low for a few seconds, then he lifted up his head and glared at the mediums before him.

" _What the fuck is going on here?!_ " Snap shouted. He tried to fight against the tinge of fear clawing its way up inside of his stomach, making him feel sick. He took in a few quick breaths, his mind spinning around in circles. He looked left and right, looking at the mediums that 'joined' him in this room. " _What do you want me for?!_ "

"Oh Snap... You should know that already..."

Snap stiffened up at the sound of that cool, calm, and collected voice. He hadn't actually heard it before. But despite that, he could already tell that this was not someone to take lightly. He could sense the dangerous thoughts even from all of this way out and it made him feel sicker. Yet he still did his best to hide this fact as he turned to glare at the zoner approaching him. Definitely not someone that he knew; he would have recognized that outfit and that hood. He remained silent as the zoner got up close to him.

"Are you comfortable?" Asked the zoner. "If you're not, I can rearrange things for you." They tilted their head to one side. "I would not mind it. Just tell me what your desire is."

Snap hissed at this. If he was not cuffed to this chair, he would have tried to slug them right about now. So instead, he just spoke to them in a venomous voice, "I want you to go to hell..."

The hooded zoner widened their eyes in shock, or was it mock shock? It was hard to tell. But whatever, not like Snap was going to take back what he said. He had a feeling that this zoner was responsible for his kidnapping, and he had a feeling that they were also connected to this stick figure group. Well that was a bit of an obvious thing. Why else would this zoner even be with them at the start and not being held down against their will?

Snap struggled to make sense of just what the hell had happened to him. He could hardly remember much; it all sort of happened so fast. He hadn't been knocked out, but he remembered a sharp prick, and then just feeling tired and... Well here he was. He had woken up about ten minutes ago. He guessed that they had drugged him to make the transport a lot easier. And judging from what was going on now, it had worked. He was at their mercy and he couldn't do anything about it.

But that didn't mean that he was going to make things easy for them. Hell no... Whatever they wanted from him, they would have to actually try their damnest to squeeze out of him. He was not going to betray anyone, regardless of what they felt.

"You are such a wild spark, right? I have been informed that you are quite difficult." The hooded figure raised their hand up, examining it, flexing their digit, before they continued. "Fortunately, I am prepared for this. I have...ways of making you talk. I know that sounds cliche to say, but..." Their eyes seemed to stare straight through Snap's soul. "At least you get what I'm saying, right?"

Snap hissed lowly. He attempted to struggle for a bit, twisting his body from one side to the other. But no matter how hard he tried, he just could not get himself free. The zoners here didn't even have to smack him to make him stop; it just sort of happened because, well, he was going to pull a muscle of he kept this up. So he resorted to just looking menacingly at the hooded zoner before him.

And it was then that he took notice of something.

This zoner was _not_ a stick figure.

He wasn't sure why it took him this long to realize it. He should have known based on just how starkly different they looked from the stick figures in this room. But this hooded zoner... They were more... 'fleshed out', if that was the right term. They were not just basic shapes; they were highly detailed. More so than he'd seen with most zoners. That made them stick out like a sore thumb.

In fact, looking at this zoner, they looked very...human in detail. He knew that it was just creator's design choice. But he could not help but note these similarities. It was hard to just dismiss them. Seeing the uncanny and deep detailing caused his stomach to twist up in knots. Not specifically with how much this zoner looked human, but due to it reminding him of what happened the last time he had encountered such a heavily detailed thing. Sure that vacuum was not actually drawn in ChalkZone, but it was still in ChalkZone and it still caused a lot of destruction.

 _Could this be a warning sign...?_

The hooded zoner began to pace around him slowly. As he did, Snap took notice of how the others were looking at him. He shuddered the sight of their twisted smiles, their eyes glinting with many hidden promises. He licked his lips slowly, swallowed hard, and tried to look as brave as possible. But he couldn't fight back the feelings completely, and he was certain that his face lost more shades of white, as if that was even possible.

"I will make it short and to the point." The hooded zoner motioned to themself. "My name is Pascal. And these guys? They're my...friends if you wish to call them that." They continued to walk around Snap, forcing the zoner to constantly look around, constantly try to see where they were. "And from what they told me, they've been hurt. And they want your help."

Snap spluttered, " _M-My help...?!_ " He took in a few heavy breaths before he shouted, "Yeah, by kidnapping me!"

"Oh kidnapping is such a harsh word. Think of it more like... _transportation_." Pascal tilted their head to one side. "And everything is going to be just fine... Provided you do exactly what we ask of you. Shouldn't be too hard, you know what I'm saying? Just answer our questions and..."

"What kind of questions...?"

"Why, exactly where to find Rapsheeba of course."

Snap's eyes widened in horror at this, taking in a sharp breath. He could feel a brief shard of ice going through his veins. Then he bared his teeth and narrowed his eyes into slits. "You would have a better chance at swallowing shattered pieces of glass and living before I would tell you where she is."

Upon seeing the looks on everyone's faces, Snap realized in that moment that he had made a huge mistake. What if these zoners didn't know that he really was connected to Rapsheeba? What if they were only testing him? And now that he had revealed that he did in fact know her..

 _Oh no..._

"I knew you would think like that. Frankly, I'm glad. Otherwise I would have had no reason to ask them for help." Snap followed the hooded zoner's arm gesture as they indicated the Beanie Boys located in the back, who looked ready to 'toy' with him. Taking in a sharp breath, he looked back at the hooded figure. "It won't be that bad. If you relent sooner, we..."

"No!" Snap didn't care at this point what happened to him. He was not going to let these zoners go anywhere near Rapsheeba. Not unless they wanted to get torn apart by him. They were all cowards, that's what they were. Not willing to face him without cheating. He could take them all on. He could...

He released a loud grunt as he felt Pascal grabbing him by his shoulders and shoving him back. The zoner's face moved in close to his, making him freeze. Snap stared into their eyes long and hard, unable to look away. And when he saw that twisted smile...

"Resist all you want to. We are patient. And we won't stop drilling your mind until we get what we want." Pascal released a few chuckles as they watched Snap's horrified expression. "Sooner or later, your mind will break. It's just a matter of...time."

sss

Hmm... it has been a while since he last had a word with that robot, wasn't it? He had been focused on other things for a little bit, but he hadn't tried to speak with Craniac again. Skrawl pondered if he should even bother, or perhaps he should at least try to make the attempt. Wouldn't hurt, right?

Skrawl knew that he would benefit more from having this robot as his ally again than to risk him being a rogue factor in things. He also knew that since they were kind of after the same goal, albeit for different reasons, he might be able to appeal to the red robot and hopefully get him to be more cooperative. He had been able to do this before, so surely he could do it again, right?

Well perhaps not. He had to remember that he did already partner up with him before and things got screwed up. He had to understand, and he did try to understand, that once you slip up with someone, it's harder to get them to come back. He might have some success in getting the zoner to work with him, but a part of him also understood just how hard that was going to be, and he also had to understand that he might never get another chance.

That didn't mean that he was going to take this lightly, however. He was still going to give it his all. He was still going to do whatever he could to succeed in getting what he wanted. He was not about to give up. If he did that, then what good was he going to do later on?

He noticed the red robot heading down the hallway in front of him. There weren't any other zoners around him. Good, he had been a bit worried that someone else might listen in on the conversation. He was not about to let that happen so easily. This was just between him and Craniac.

He moved through the hallway, following him as quickly as possible. He was surprised at how fast the red robot was going. It seemed like the further they went down, the more the red robot was making him go faster and faster. It was almost as if he had realized Skrawl was there and was trying to get away from him. And if that was the case... Skrawl narrowed his eyes and started to break off into a run.

That did it. Craniac was now zooming through the hallway. He had known that he was following him. And now he was trying to get away. Skrawl narrowed his eyes into slits. Well if he wanted to get away, he was going to have to try harder than this. With his teeth gritted, Skrawl moved to go faster, baring his yellow-stained teeth. There was no way that this robot was going to get away from him. He wasn't...

Suddenly Skrawl had to start skidding to a stop, realizing just what Craniac had gotten him to do. Without realizing it, Skrawl had ended up nearly colliding with a group of futuristic zoners. Skrawl backed up, staring on in confusion and shock. He could see the way the future zoners were looking at him as they were walking by, carrying some items. For what purpose, he didn't know. He couldn't stop looking at how they stared at him. Looks close to disgust, yet not quite. Skrawl shook his head, tearing his eyes away from their looks, and looked towards where Craniac had gone off to.

Should he still follow him? He had been led right into an area of several future zoners. They were moving all around him, and Craniac was not far. He was more in the corner, but still in very plain sight of these zoners. He wouldn't be able to speak to him privately like he had wanted to. He gritted his teeth at this realization. _That little fucker_... Of course he would try to make things so darn difficult...

The jellybean released a sigh. Well, perhaps he should be more open about this. Maybe he should talk to Craniac while these zoners were watching. He would just have to...change his angle a little. Not make it apparent that he has his own agenda. Just appeal to theirs. And then... A glint flashed in the jellybean's eyes. He might be able to shift this into his favor. If he made a good offer to Craniac, one that benefited the future zoners, and if Craniac were to refuse... Skrawl chuckled mentally at the thought of the crimson robot having to explain to his followers why he was not taking up on Skrawl's offer.

Skrawl moved through the crowd slowly. He twisted himself around, bending his body in ways he didn't think was possible, even jumping over or ducking when necessary, as he made his way over. All around him, he noticed future zoners moving things around, carrying them over their heads or in their arms. The scenes filled his nostrils and he snorted a few times. This place was starting to smell a bit too much like a dusty old box or rotting metal or something. A strange analogy to make. He wondered just what these zoners were carrying around.

But for now, he remained focused. He would worry about that other stuff later. He would worry about Craniac's hidden agenda, if he had any, some other time. Right now, it was simply time to chat. Try to talk to him and try to appeal to him. Get him to realize how much they would benefit from each other if they were to join forces.

After he did that, then he would have everyone under his finger, wrapped around it tightly. The stick figures' leader was already more or less on his side. If he could get the leader of the future zoners, Craniac, on his side as well, then they would be united against Pascal. They would not take action against them right away, of course. Pascal was still useful, and they might be able to succeed in their promise of helping them all.

But if Pascal really was hiding something, if they had other plans that they were not telling them...

Well that was why joining together was so important. They could all surround them, hold them down, whatever they could. They would be outnumbered and they would not be able to do anything. It would be... glorious.. That was the only word that Skrawl could think of to use. Glorious. He formed a tight fist with his head, sneering down at it for a moment before realizing what he was doing, wiping the expression off his face before anyone could see it.

Before he knew it, he had reached Craniac's side. This time, the robot did not try to get away. Perhaps he felt safer here, among the other future zoners. Maybe he felt like Skrawl was less likely to harm him if he were among his own kind. Skrawl scoffed inward at this thought. If that is the case, then Craniac must not be that smart after all. He didn't even see the trap that he had walked himself into. He didn't see just how badly this all could be turned against him. But oh well... That just made things easier for him.

"Hello, Craniac..." Skrawl spoke up. He raised his hand up as he motioned towards the robot zoner. "How are you doing right now? Doing well?"

Craniac was not impressed with his attempts at starting a conversation. "What do you want this time?" Before Skrawl could answer, Craniac raised his hand up, stopping him in his tracks. "Oh wait! I know!" He pointed almost accusingly at Skrawl, but not that obvious. "You still want me to help you out, am I right?"

Skrawl wasn't sure how to respond to that. So he just narrowed his eyes slightly, giving a small smile as he put his hands on his hips. Craniac seemed to understand, to some extent, right away.

"I've already told you, Skrawl. I'm _not_ interested." Craniac translucent eyes seemed to narrow, though it was honestly difficult to tell. "The only reason I'm even in the same room as you is because of Pascal. I did my end of the bargain and let you stay. I was the one who told them that you could be useful." He did a swiping motion with his hand. "But that is as far as it goes. We're not partners and we never will be again."

Skrawl blinked a few times. It was not Craniac's continued refusal to help that got his attention. Rather, it was something else that he had said. "You put out a good word for me?" He tilted his head to the side, staring at Craniac intently. "Heh...why would you do that if you don't think working with me is worth it?"

Craniac paused at this. He hesitated, making it pretty clear that he wasn't entirely certain himself. He soon shook his head and he spoke in a slightly shaky voice, "Y-You're just trying to confuse me!" The robot swung his head towards Skrawl, motioning towards the exit. "J-Just leave! I have work to do!"

Skrawl raised up an eyebrow. "And why should I leave? If you think I'm 'useful'..." Skrawl leaned in closely towards the light red-colored robot. "Then why not join me? Why not make me even more 'useful'? Are you...afraid of failure, Craniac...?"

Craniac spluttered, "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Skrawl chuckled at this. "Oh don't give me that. You remember, don't you? How you failed to properly train some of your robots and they ended up getting hurt..."

This seemed to catch the attention of some of the other zoners around here. They turned their heads, watching with some sense of curiosity. Skrawl smiled at this. Yes, this is exactly what he wanted. This is what he had hoped for. Now if he could just play it up even more...

"They had looked up to you, didn't they? You had promised them that they'd have a greater purpose. But they all ended up being destroyed. And not even one by one; but all at once. Their parts are still here, aren't they? Heck, some of them might even be in those boxes that they are carrying..." Skrawl pointed his finger towards the zoners off to their side. "What if they are carrying the nuts and bolts of their friends? Have you even told them about that?"

At this, the future zoners around them began to mutter and murmur loudly. Some thinking that it was nothing and moving on. Others looking a bit more horrified, looking at their box nervously. Some were discussing things amongst each other. A couple said that it was par for the course and went on like it was nothing. And still others were trying to talk to Craniac, who was too busy staring at Skrawl.

The jellybean smirked at the robot zoner. It looked as if he had gotten Craniac right where he wanted. Now his own followers were starting to question him, and now they knew of that past incident that it seemed Craniac had hidden from them. Now that he was in this situation, he would need to plan his next move carefully. If he were to slip up now, if he were to make just one mistake...

Craniac looked like he was having a hard time coming up with an answer. He was spluttering and stuttering over his own words. Skrawl couldn't help but laugh mentally at this. It was hard to keep himself from laughing aloud, honestly. It was so satisfying to see Craniac like this, knowing that there was no way out for him. Whatever he did, it would drastically affect his relationship with his followers. What was he going to do? Skrawl had to wonder just what choice he was going to make.

Finally, the robot zoner replied.

"There's...there's no reason to keep discussing this... Everything will be fine this time. I can assure you that..."

"And what of them? Are they satisfied...?"

The red robot would have licked his lips if he had a tongue...or lips to start with. Skrawl watched in silence as Craniac looked around behind himself cautiously. He looked from left to right slowly, taking note of everyone's expressions. They clearly wanted him to answer. They wanted him to do something. Whatever Craniac did next, it was going to reflect heavily upon him. Whether or not it became a positive thing... Well, that was entirely up to Craniac himself.

Skrawl knew that he had the robot in a deadlock with him. He knew that, no matter what Craniac did or said, he still had him backed up into a corner. It mattered not now what the robot did. It mattered not which direction he went. They would both benefit Skrawl greatly while forcing a defeat out of Craniac.

If he conceded? Good, then Skrawl would have a new ally. Er, or rather an old ally rejoining him. Whichever. But either way, he would have a stronger chance to get what he wanted and not have to worry about Pascal.

But should Craniac refuse? Well Skrawl wouldn't have much to worry about in that regard. After all, it was not he who would be afflicted by that decision, but Craniac himself. He doubted that any of his followers would be happy. At least a few would be quite upset, right? And Craniac would only have himself to blame.

Skrawl felt a sense of pride at what he had accomplished. He felt his mouth corners stretching outward, forming a twisted smile. He didn't bother to hide it. There was no longer a reason for it. The other zoners here didn't care about him anymore. They were waiting intently on Craniac's response. All Skrawl had to do was just lean back and watch as the robot squirmed, struggling to figure out just what he was going to do. He could see how Craniac kept rubbing his metal hands nervously, struggling with what to say next. Perhaps it was a good thing that Craniac could not sweat; he would have already short circuited himself at this point.

"Well...?" Skrawl asked after a few more moments of silence. "What do you say? What is your decision...?" He raised his hand up in gesture. "I'm sure someone of your high intelligence would know what to do right now." He cocked his head to one side. "So what choice are you going to make...?"

Craniac still had trouble responding. Perhaps it was the pressure from the zoners staring at him. Or perhaps it was from the fact that he could not handle how right Skrawl was. Either way, it was a bit humorous to watch. But as humorous as it was, Skrawl didn't want to stay here forever. He folded his arms slowly and narrowed his eyes at the zoner, awaiting a response with the same level of 'patience' as some of these future zoners were displaying.

"Oh come on!"

"Just get it out already!"

Craniac looked all around him, taking note of how everyone was looking at him. Skrawl didn't bother looking away from the robot zoner before him. He just focused on Craniac, his expression deepening, showing him that he was not going to be able to stay silent forever.

Eventually, it seemed that the weight of stress finally pushed Craniac to the breaking point. The robot looked as though he was starting to smoke a little from the intense pressure that had been placed upon him. He raised his arms up and let out a loud yell, enough that it seemed to permeate everyone around them. "Oh sweet transistors! That's it! I've had it!"

The future zoners all jumped back, startled by this sudden shout from Craniac. Skrawl himself was also a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Craniac to go nuts so easily. But still, perhaps this was going to work in his favor. Perhaps Craniac had finally...

"I told you once and I told you a thousand times, I want nothing to do with you!"

...or perhaps not.

"There is no reason, no benefit, from me working with you again!" Craniac hissed, his voice suddenly sounding even more mechanical than usual. "If you think that you can just guilt me into joining you, then you've got a few loose screws yourself!"

Skrawl let out a low, soft growl. "And what of your followers? They now know what you have done. Do you think that they will be happy about this?"

Craniac's body trembled. He looked as though he were struggling really hard to keep himself silent. He looked like he was having an increasingly difficult time preventing himself from snapping completely. He shook his head a few times, and it almost looked as if he had finally calmed down. But the look in his translucent robotic eyes told another story entirely. Skrawl braced himself for what the robot was going to say next.

" _Who fucking cares?!_ Yes, I made a mistake. I should have helped them more. I will admit that. But I'm not going to let that slow me down! I'm not going to let myself get bolted to the fucking floor just because a few of my subjects didn't know what the hell they were doing! If they hadn't been so stupid, that wouldn't have happened to them! If everyone else where has an objection, well too bad, because it won't change anything! I have more important things to worry about than a few measly complaints and...!"

Skrawl cleared his throat and pointed his claw in on direction. Craniac swiveled his head in one direction, staring over at where Skrawl indicated. And once he saw how the other zoners were looking at him, he froze, taking in a sharp gasp of air, raising an arm in reflex.

All around him, the other zoners, some of which had dropped what they were doing, were staring at him. There was a mixture of emotion. Some were horrified, others angry. But none of them were looking at him with any level of sympathy. Just disgust and shock. And it wasn't just a few; Skrawl was certain that there were at least twenty in this room who had heard what he said and would easily pass it on to the others. Craniac had just made a huge mistake.

Skrawl sneered down at the dumbfounded Craniac. It mattered not what he did at this point. The futuristic zoners were too busy glaring at Craniac, too focused on Craniac, to care about much else. "Well look at that... Perhaps you should have spoken a little louder. I don't think they've heard you."

Craniac looked around, looking more helpless than Skrawl had ever seen him. "Guys... I..." He raised his hand up, as though silently asking, pleading for support. But no one answered him. He lowered his hand slowly, his gaze turning towards the ground.

Skrawl would have taunted him a little more about this. But he held his tongue. There was no point right now. These zoners were going to do a number on him, if not emotionally then physically. But before he left Craniac to his face, he decided to say one last thing to drive the nail in the coffin. Grabbing Craniac by his shoulder tightly, looking into his robotic eyes, he said in a low voice, "I hope you choose your next decision more wisely. I would...hate to think of what would happen if you screwed up again..."

Craniac stuttered, " _Y-You_..."

"I'm available to talk when you are ready." Skrawl told him as he released him. He took a step back. "I'm sure we can...sort this whole mess out..." With that, Skrawl turned and walked away, letting the futuristic zoners be alone with their so-called 'leader'.

sss

Pascal let out a low hiss as they made their way back into their room. They needed to get away from the others for a little while. They needed some time alone. They were getting a little tired of all of what was going on. It was time that they were able to get a bit of rest and reorient themselves. There were some things that needed to be done later. But for now, there was something else that they needed to do.

They walked down the hallway as quickly as they could, ignoring any zoner that they happened to come across, ignoring whatever they had said. They didn't pay any attention to whatever commotion was going on. They paid no mind to the zoners that appeared to be brushing by them quickly, going somewhere in such a hurry. They didn't care what they were doing right now. They would worry about them later. There were other things going on inside of their mind and they had no time for this.

Eventually, they could see their room in the distance. They felt a sense of relief knowing that none of the other zoners were going towards it. Not that they expected them to; the zoners knew quite well to avoid that spot. But still, didn't hurt to be careful. After all, zoners could be a rather... _tricky_ bunch. They knew this from experience.

Pascal got into the room quickly and did a swift search around. Although it seemed empty, they were still a little tense about the whole thing. One of those stick figure zoners or futuristic zoners might be looming around, curious about what they were going to do, trying to get more information. They gritted their teeth as they did a thorough visual search. Even after finding nothing out of the ordinary, they were still pretty tense.

Slowly, Pascal closed the door behind them and entered into the room a little further. They swiveled their head slowly from one side to the other, their eyes focusing heavily on whatever details were available. Only after doing this a few times did they feel safe enough to relax and just walk in more normally.

But it wasn't like they had much to worry about. Indeed, they had it all planned out in a way that no one would think twice. Even talking to Skrawl wasn't much of an endangerment, for the zoner didn't understand everything. Oh sure, they had given some clues, but the idiot wouldn't understand. He wouldn't be able to get just what it is they were referring to. After all, this was something that most zoners didn't know about. Heck even the human creators Rudy and Penny wouldn't know either. And beat up Snap all they wanted to, but they still wouldn't get Snap to admit that he knew this either.

It was...pretty much a secret. Something that only a tiny portion of the population knew. This had its pros and cons. Of course, the con mainly being it was hard to ask for help and hard to tell who could be trustworthy of this information. But it had the pro that it kept information secret. So long as they made all the right moves, all the right actions, they had essentially nothing to worry about. But they still had to remain vigilant just in case.

The cloaked zoner proceeded towards the book slowly, the same one that they had allowed Skrawl to look at earlier. The same one that could have easily revealed something huge to the jellybean...if he were smart enough to know where to look, that is. Pascal couldn't help but smirk as he recalled that conversation. Knowing that Skrawl was in the shadow of things was certainly encouraging.

Pascal lifted up the book, opened it up, and peered inside. A smile twisted across their mouth as they darted their eyes from one side to the other slowly. They reread this information over and over again. Something that would be foreign to anyone trying to decipher it. But for them, it was clear as day. Something that anyone would understand if they actually took the time to read this. But of course, not everyone was as smart as they.

The paragraph they paid most attention to was around the center point. They reread it over and over again, not just for the power sensation it gave them, but also a..reassurance type thing.

"Interactions intertwine. Interactions intersect. Both worlds, yet the same world, connected through invisible coils. Day in, day out. Beware. Look for the piece to unlock the trap of twenty-four."

Complete mumbo jumbo to anyone who didn't understand where it came from. But for Pascal, this paragraph reminded them so much, wrapping its invisible tendrils around their head and forcing them to keep looking, to keep staring, and there was little that they could do to break free of it. Bitterness crawled through and they swallowed hard, feeling a sting in their chest. They did their best to remain calm and collected, but they could barely fight back against the bile taste.

They managed to shake their head and return themselves to their calm and collected state. They reminded themself of what kind of future laid before them. _If they could only just get their hands on this piece of chalk..._

Well that was why they had gathered these zoners, right? They would make the process easier. The distant screams of Snap reminded them of the hope lingering within view. They just needed to try to remain calm and collected. They needed to keep themself from falling into too much disrepair and impatience. They would get what they deserved in due time.

But it still wasn't going to be easy. There was still so much room for error, still a chance that this was all just a waste of them. Were they going to remain trapped a...

They shook their head once, narrowing their eyes. Well..only time would tell for certain, _now wouldn't it..?_


	14. Mutiny

What was he going to do?

 _Oh gawd_... What in the world was he going to do now..?

Craniac had excused himself, wanting some time alone. He doubted he would get it for long, though. The zoners were already onto what had happened. They already knew what he said, what he did... There was no doubt in his mind that he would eventually be interrupted, and they were not going to take 'no' for an answer.

Craniac released a small sigh, baring his teeth tightly, or rather he would if he had any. Why had he been so stupid? He should have realized what the fuck Skrawl was doing. He should have been able to detect the zoner's actions, what his plans were, and be able to react accordingly. If he hadn't been so uptight, he might have been able to...

Well, it was too late for that, wasn't it? The zoners now knew. He had slipped up. All he could do now was hope that they would leave him alone and put it at rest. But knowing them.. heh, that was not going to be the likely case. They would come after him and they would not let him alone until he gave them what they wanted. And that was answers. He didn't even know what he could say to them. What in the world would they accept? An apology?

He stared at the ground at his wheel foot. He leaned up against the wall of his private room. He took a moment to look around, basking in the familiarness of this place.

Nice and round in shape, curving this way and that, creating a circle. It nearly entrapped him inside of it, and yet that's what made it feel safe. The roof stretched upwards like an egg, and fittingly, the jagged mirror made it look as though it were cracked open. There was no bed in here; he did not need it. He did not need long sleep like some of the other inefficient zoners. Instead, he did have a resting station in the corner. A dip in the ground and a thin glass dome revealed its location.

The door that he had come in from was tall and had a sliding function, the doors split by a thin line down the middle. A button was used to operate it, although this side had a locking button as well, ensuring that no one would be able to get in without him knowing about it. This was literally the only way inside; the window was made out of very thick and hard material and there were no air vents. Why would he need it?

Yet even this familiarness was not enough to keep him calm. He couldn't stay in here forever. He would need to come out to do things like recharge his battery and set up some other things. It wasn't going to do that on its own, now would it?

He still was not sure just what Pascal wanted with all of that stuff, especially since a lot of it was broken. Most of what Craniac brought them was busted and no longer of use. The other future zoners had also been bringing in some stuff. Mostly from their own homes, but some of them had helped him move stuff. And some of it was...

Craniac seethed, recalling how Skrawl had revealed that some old body parts were being transferred. Craniac did not like the idea of what he was doing. He would love to use something else. But it was just... Those zoners were gone anyway, no matter how you look at the picture. They weren't using those parts anymore. _So_... why not use them? Why not do something with them? At least in this way, they had a purpose again. They...

But it was apparent the other zoners did not see it this way. He saw the way that those zoners stared at him. So horrified, so angry... Perhaps he should have been more honest with them from the start. Perhaps he should have told them about what happened when he and Skrawl worked together. Why hadn't he done something about that sooner? He didn't really know. Perhaps he was too entranced, too busy arguing with Skrawl to realize it.

He should have told the zoners that Skrawl was as much to blame. He may not have actually destroyed any of those zoners, but he certainly didn't help things. If that stupid jellybean had not been so focused on 'perfection', then none of that would have happened. Craniac felt a sense of bitterness as he recalled that incident. That had been added to the list of reasons why he didn't want to work with Skrawl.

But though he was tempted, he had to think... Would it even matter at this point? Would he be able to convince the zoners that he was still on their side? Would he be able to help them understand that he was still their ally? That Skrawl was the one they should be mad at? Something told him that, at least for now, they were not going to be willing to listen. The most he could do was just...try to step lightly and avoid angering them further.

His train of thought was interrupted when he could hear a knock on the door. He turned his head over and stared at the door intently. He could feel his circuitry twisting and going abnormal. His vision screen seemed to flicker for a bit. It took him a few seconds before he could get himself to say anything.

"Who is there..?" He asked at last. "I'm...kind of busy and..."

"Oh _hell you are_ , sir..." The voice was a bit harsh, and easily recognizable. It was Corkscrew. "Let me in! We have to talk!"

Craniac hesitated. Normally he would have been glad to let this zoner instead. She and him went a long way back. He could remember when they first met and... But now hearing her voice like this, so similar to how she usually talked but with a certain accent to it, he could just hear her venom dripping from her robotic mouth. He didn't know if he wanted to face her right now. Couldn't she try coming another time?

But... he did know what she was like. He knew that she was not going to just let him walk away like that. If he wanted a chance to keep his wheel foot, he was better off just letting her in and talking to her. Or rather, trying to talk to her would be a better terminology. Or to be even more accurate: survive.

He eventually managed to force himself to put his metal hand against the button. There was a loud click and beep. Then the doors slid open slowly. He took a few steps back and watched as the zoner slowly came into the room, lumbering about, her body arching from side to side, fitting of her reptilian appearance. Craniac watched as the simplistic reptilian robot looked up at him, her body squat on the ground, her eyes mere light bulbs jetting out the sides of her face. He could see his reflection in her silvery metallic hide.

"It was about time you let me in..." She spoke. Her mouth did not move; it was sealed shut with only a black line with porous features enabling her voice to be heard. It lit up, flashing in light as she continued to speak. "I didn't think you had anything to hide, sir."

Craniac stammered as he tabbed his hands together. He looked away from her. He could already tell where this was going to go. "So...uh...h-how...how are you doing...?" He asked hesitantly.

This comment earned him a growl from Corkscrew, as well as a smack from her metallic tail. He grunted and rolled himself back. He was thankful that she didn't hit hard enough to actually dent his body metal. "Don't you dare act like that! You know the answer, so do not pretend!"

Craniac flinched at this, then slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, I know. My apologies."

"Hmph!" Growled the zoner. Then she glared at him intently, moving in closer towards him. "So is what they said true? Did you really do all of that?" The reptilian robot zoner moved around Craniac slowly, showing no signs of stopping. Her tail once in a while would graze up against him. An act she wouldn't normally do unless she was being dead serious about something. "Did you really allow a few of our own to die like that..?"

"A-Allow...? Why dear Corkscrew, you know that I.."

"Don't call me 'dear'! Just answer my fucking question!"

Craniac moved back away from her. He could feel his internal circuitry going a little haywire. He struggled to keep himself calm, but he found it impossible to do so. All he could do was just stare at Corkscrew with uncertainty. If he had teeth, they would be gritted right now. "I..." His voice trailed off as he turned his gaze down. He could feel some of those previous guilt feelings coming back and he found it difficult to keep it back for much longer. He finally uttered, "It was an accident..."

This was all that Corkscrew needed to hear. And apparently it was enough to make her flip her nose up at him. "So it was true then.." She leaned in towards him, pounding her feet against the ground. "You really are a fucking traitor."

"N-No, I..I _do_ care about everyone here!" Craniac tried to explain, raising his hands up in gesture. "Please, you've got to believe me!"

Corkscrew raised her body up, her back forming a slop downward, her tail zigzagging along the ground. "Why the hell should I? You haven't given any of us a reason to keep trusting you. How in the world do we know that you aren't going to screw things up again? You had a choice and you could have helped those robot zoners out. Instead, you let them blow up, and you acted like it was no big deal!"

"That's not true! I did try to help them! It was just..." Craniac struggled to figure out what to say next. His voice box remained silent. Which didn't exactly do him any favors with Corkscrew.

The reptile robot scoffed. "Oh don't pretend like you do care... If you did, you would have been able to save them. We were wrong about having you as our leader..."

This statement caused Craniac's motherboard to sink. "W-Wait...! Please...!"

Corkscrew seethed, "You have already had your chance, Craniac. I think it's time for someone else to..."

"No! You have to give me another chance! I-I promise I won't...screw up again..! _Please...!_ "

Craniac felt desperate at this point. He had never really thought much about his position before. He had never really appreciated it that much. It was just something that was always a thing. Nobody questioned it before. Nobody challenged him. It was something that he thought that he'd always have.

And yet here he stood, with the threat of having it ripped away from him, with no one to blame but himself. He should have seen this coming. He should never have taken this position for granted. Now that he was about to lose it, he wanted to cling onto it more than ever. He never realized just how much this meant to him. And the fact that he was about to lose it... No, he was not going to let that happen.

But Corkscrew didn't look convinced. She still glared at him with a level of contempt that he could not describe. Her voice remained darkened as she spoke. He had never felt this menaced by her in the past. It was unprecedented.

"You're a robot. I'm a robot. Shouldn't that have made a difference...?" Corkscrew's voice sounded slightly hurt by this. But her voice was still dominated by manufactured anger. "I guess if you're willing to be dismissive of your own kind.." She tilted her head back a little. "Then I suppose it doesn't matter for the rest of the future zoners here. None of them mean anything to you."

Craniac felt panic surging through his body. _No, no_... This could not be happening... He rushed towards her, blocking her path before she could get out of the room. The robot lizard stopped in her tracks, raising her foot up and staring at him in surprise for a moment, and then snarled in irritation.

"Get the fuck out of my way!" Shouted Corkscrew. "You are not doing yourself any favors by doing this! This just gives me more of a reason to...!"

"Just please... Wait..." Begged Craniac. "I'm... sorry about all of that, okay? I'm sorry that I haven't acted like the leader that I should have. But please... Y-You can't..." He struggled to speak, his mind constantly tripping over itself, his internal wiring going nuts. "Please just give me another chance..."

There was a bit of silence between the two. They stared at one another for several moments. There was no look of sympathy from Corkscrew, no matter how emotionally that Craniac pleaded. It would seem that she made up her mind and there was nothing that he could do or say to change this. No longer would she look at him affectionately like she did before. Only coldness would remain.

And it was all _his_ fault...

"I'm sorry... But you have already used up your chances..." Replied Corkscrew. "And you botched it up. I will go back to the others and we will make a decision on who will be your replacement." She turned her back to him, not bothering to even look at him. It was clear that she has had enough and she was not going to speak to him any longer. "Goodbye, Craniac... _sir_..." The last word was spoken with some level of sarcasm. With that, she began to waddle her way out of the room, leaving behind Craniac alone.

Craniac watched her go, unable to move, unable to do anything except watch. He looked at the ground. His internal wires felt like they were going to burst open. His vision screen kept malfunctioning, as though it had a hard time processing what he had just been told. He could barely even move. It was like his whole body had rusted and he was about to collapse to the ground.

He just...couldn't believe that this had happened. Despite his best efforts, despite trying his hardest, she still would not...

And if Corkscrew didn't trust him anymore, then the others would not either. He knew in that instance that it was over. There was nothing he could do to change it. Nothing that would prevent this from happening. He had to accept the uncomfortable truth. He had to accept reality.

He was no longer the leader of Future Dome.

sss

Skrawl had to wonder how things were going on with Craniac. He wondered just what those zoners were going to do with him. The thought filled his mind up with excitement and he struggled to keep himself calm. Yet he could not stop the smile from spreading along his face. This should lead him into some...very good territory indeed. Surely those zoners would want Craniac to 'prove his leadership to them', and surely, obviously, they would involve something with him. He was the one who revealed the truth, after all.

He wondered why no one approached him yet. Then again, it had not been that long. He needed to learn some patience. He needed to understand that all good things come to those who wait. And if he kept being too impatient, well... Things just weren't going to work out that well for him. He would be in a whole world of misery. He had learned that the hard way.

So he would just wait around here until someone comes by. He imagined that one of the future zoners were going to try to find him. They would want to return the favor of him revealing the truth by asking him for help. They would want him to offer his advice on how to handle this. And from here, he would be able to get Craniac under his finger. He would then have control over everyone.

Well, everyone except for Pascal...

But still, that was better than nothing, right? Much better. He would have ninety-nine percent control, and the only remaining factor would be Pascal. And he doubted that this zoner would stand much of a chance against them. There were so many of them standing together. Pascal might have been able to handle some of these zoners well enough on their own. But how would they deal with ten? Twenty? Excess of thirty? They would not have much of a chance, now would they?

Skrawl paced back and forth in the hallway. He couldn't really stop feeling lightly impatient about the whole thing still. He would constantly look over his shoulder, trying to see if anyone had come. He kept thinking that he heard something, only for it to turn out to be his imagination. He fought against his whirling mind, gritting his teeth tightly. He forced himself to sigh as he looked down at his hand, watching his fingers flexing slowly. He closed his eyes for a momenet before reopening them and taking another look around.

What the heck was taking _so long_? Why wasn't he...

No, no, he needed to remember one thin: patience. He couldn't already have forgotten that. He couldn't already be acting this way after already acknowledging that patience was important. Yet that did not stop his chest from tightening up, the tips of his fingers burning, as he struggled to wait.

At least it didn't seem to take too much longer. He could hear footsteps rapidly approaching him. He swiveled his had in the direction of the sound, half expecting to see a couple of the zoners rushing at him en masse, wanting to speak with him. He was surprised when this did not happen and his stomach stung in disappointment. Well, perhaps he hadn't been charismatic enough. Perhaps he should have tried harder.

At least there was someone still approaching him. He watched as the zoner, who appeared to be a metallic lizard, slithering towards him. He had remembered seeing this particular zoner before at least once. But exactly where, that slipped his mind. Oh well, that didn't matter. He just focused on the zoner coming at him, wondering what the heck she wanted. If she was not offering up some kind of servitude with him or anything related to that, then he was not interested.

The lizard zoner did not look particularly happy to see him. Not outright angry or anything. But it seemed as though here was...something in those eyes that made it obvious to the jellybean that he had done something to upset her. Perhaps she was not happy with what he had revealed to them? Maybe they thought he was lying and were going to defend Craniac? Oh no... if that is the case then..he had really screwed up. He should have tried harder. He should have been more careful with his words. He should have been able to easily sway them.

The zoner spoke up, breaking his train of thought. "Hey you there! I need to talk to you!"

Skrawl could detect the mixture of uncertainty and urgency in her voice. It was like she really didn't want to do this, and yet there was little time remaining. He remained silent and watched with curiosity. She didn't continue speaking until she got a little closer. She cleared her throat and attempted to speak in a more calm and to-the-point manner.

"I just..had a word with Craniac." She said. She stared at Skrawl long and hard for several moments, as though internally struggling with a decision. Skrawl remained silent, waiting for her to continue, waiting for her to tell him what she wanted. "I admit, it was not an easy thing for me to do... I had liked him, you know? To think that he had held back such information. And the way that he had talked about us..."

Skrawl nodded his head slowly. He tried to look as sympathetic as possible. He didn't really care that much about their personal squabbles. But he knew that it would do him a lot of favors if he acted like he did care. "Yeah, I am sorry to hear that."

She side glanced him, her face turning a bit hostile despite the fact that she could not move her face all that well. "Well, anyway, after speaking with him, I realized something. Perhaps things...shouldn't continue the way that they are." She tilted her head a little to the side, eyeing Skrawl directly before looking away at the side. "Perhaps we need something...else to help us out. A new arrangement perhaps?"

Skrawl tried not to smile at this. He tried not to give a chuckle. Yes, it would seem that things are starting to fall into place. It would seem that patience had started to pay off. If he continued to play his cards right, then...

"A new arrangement, eh?" Skrawl scratched his chin thoughtfully. "That is an interesting idea." He tried his best to make it sound like he did not have something in mind. He held his hand up in gesture. "You got any ideas?"

The reptile robot nodded her head. "Indeed, I do." Skrawl watched intently, waiting to hear those words that he knew that he would hear. This was it, the zoner was going to say... "We have decided that you would make a better replacement leader."

...well, this was something...different. Skrawl blinked a few times as he stared at the reptile robot, a part of him wondering if he had misheard something. He didn't know what he had expected specifically. But this was not one of them. He did not think that the future zoners would... _Why...?_

The robot zoner before him seemed to catch his confusion, and she was more than happy to explain. "Well you are the one who revealed the truth to us. At least you are more honest than Craniac." She held her paw up in gesture, her claws flexing inward, glinting slightly. "We do believe that you are more suited to lead us than him. So..." She lowered herself, her back end raising from the ground, her tail curving towards her head. "...welcome to your new position, sir. We of the Future Dome welcome you."

Skrawl was stunned by this. He had not expected things to turn out this way. He did not think that he could... That this would...

A smile stretched along his face. Whatever, he would take it. This was perfect. This was even better than sharing leadership with Craniac. Perhaps he should have done something similar to the stick figure zoners. If he were in charge of them, too...

Well no matter. He had gotten what he wanted. He now had control. More control than he ever thought he would have. And this meant that even Craniac was beneath him. That zoner now had to do whatever he wanted and there was not a thing that he could do to change that fact. He could not stop himself from chuckling at the realization. Well, now that he had them all wrapped under his claw like a ribbon, perhaps he should actually do something with this power.

A thought came across his mind.

"Take me to see Craniac.. I would _love_ to have a word with him."

The lizard-like robot's bulb eyes flickered in confusion. But she consented. "As you wish, sir."

The two of them made their way down the hallway. Skrawl smiled to himself. This was more like it.


	15. Into Thin Air

A set of eyes watched Skrawl carefully as he continued down the hallway. Skrawl, of course, had no idea of what was going on. He had thought he was alone. He had thought that no one was going to crop in and listen to what was being said.

Well, he had been _dead wrong._

Pascal narrowed their eyes slowly as they watched the jellybean zoner walking away with the reptile-like robot. If they had just arrived, they would be confused, wanting to try to understand what had gone on. But Pascal was not stupid. They realized right away what was going on here. After all, they were not stupid. It was plain as day what was going on.

It would seem that Skrawl was planning something. The zoner's behavior seemed to strongly indicate this, and the way that he would talk to them. Skrawl was acting a little too 'chummy' for what they knew Skrawl to be like. It was like he was purposely trying to make himself look nonthreatening so that he could continue to scheme behind his back. That would be quite clever, if he had not made it so blatantly obvious. And to think, Skrawl was supposed to be a threat... _What a fucking joke._

Still, they had to commend Skrawl from even having the guts to try. Some zoners they knew would not even get to this state. They would be too afraid to be bold, too afraid to try something. And it was so sickening to listen to time and time again. They let out a small sigh at this realization, struggling to keep their mind clear and focused. It was not like they cared if anyone tried; it made things easier. But with Skrawl, well it could be a little fun.

But they did not want to waste too much time right now on 'fun'. They wanted to keep themself as focused as possible on the task at hand. They needed to ensure that everything is built, and there would be a lot of moving involved and..

Their mind trailed off for a moment as they turned their head in the direction of one particular location. Wasn't there an active volcano somewhere? That would be quite a sick place to go to, right? They hadn't really seriously thought of going there, of course. But still, it would be pretty fun. They were always drawn to their power and their majesty, and of course they would be highly secure. Not many people would really get that a volcano would be the safest place to put in a base. After all, if it erupted...

Okay, enough thinking about that. What were they going to do about Skrawl? It was clear that the zoner was working behind their back. It was plain as day what Skrawl had intended on doing. He was trying to rally the zoners against them. He was trying to ensure that they were outnumbered. The realization made them grit their teeth in slight frustration. But then, they were not that worried. Did Skrawl think that they did not think of a plan for this?

They decided they would do something later. For now, Skrawl was not really that much of a threat. Skrawl might think he has the upper hand, but he does not know that Pascal knew what was going on. And Pascal also knew that Skrawl would not try to make a move unless he feels that he absolutely can, and only if Pascal no longer 'had his favor'. The moment that Pascal's interests conflicted with Skrawl's, then Skrawl was going to try to do something about them. This was easy enough to deduce. Skrawl was not that unpredictable.

And it was way too obvious the best way to counter this. It was not that hard to figure out. It was written on the walls practically. To ensure that Skrawl's little 'rebellion' remained on the low end of things, all they had to do was just cater to Skrawl a little. Try to make sure that their plans coincided with his own. That should be easy enough to do. They just needed to have a little word with him, pretending like it was a regular meeting and managing to sneak in some information from him.

Pascal released a small chuckle, their arm folding against themself. Thinking about it, they could not really be surprised by Skrawl's inability to hide his thoughts from them. Wasn't he created by several humans? All with conflicting interests? That would have messed up his mind a little and made things quite..difficult to put it mildly. It was pretty obvious now that they thought about it carefully.

And such a shame, too. Skrawl could have been such a formidable opponent. He could have been someone. If things had gone differently, then they could have...

Pascal shook their head. That was enough thinking about that. They had to do something other than just standing around here. They were wasting time. They decided that it was best to go speak with the stick figure leader. Jax they believe his name was? Yes, that sounded familiar. Since Skrawl took control of the future zoners, then perhaps if Pascal strengthened their partnership with Jax, making them secretly loyal to them, then they could keep the ground more even still. It shouldn't be too difficult, either. They had ways of... _making_ Jax, and even Jonathan, cooperative.

They turned their head to look down the hallway. Now which way would they be located at? The last they had seen either of them, they were busy having a little bit of fun with Snap. Speaking of which, they wondered how he was doing. A loud scream answered their question for them. Well, they might as well pay a little visit. Snap could use a break, anyway. Wouldn't want him to die without him giving that information, now would they?

With that in mind, Pascal began to head towards the holding chamber where Snap was being held captive.

sss

" _Aaaaahhhh!_ " Snap pulled his head back and released a loud scream. The sound echoed through the air, practically shattering the sound barrier. Tears pooled out of his eyes, staining his cheeks. He kept his eyes shut and his teeth gritted, hoping to stifle another scream. But despite all of that, he still would not talk.

The zoners around him were clearly not happy with this. They had been trying their damnest to make him break, and they were poised to keep trying. The thought would have made Snap laugh if he weren't in too much pain right now. He was determined not to cave in, no matter what these monstrous zoners did. That meant having to endure agony after agony, but it was worth it.

He was not going to let them find out where Rapsheeba was.

He felt his head being jerked to the side as he felt something strike against his jaw. He let out a yelp, unable to stop it, and he felt a sort of whiplash effect as his neck bent almost to its limit. He remained like this for several moments, feeling the pain echoing throughout his neck, before he lifted up his head to glare back at the zoners doing this to him. He had no idea just why they were doing this or how long this was going to go on for. But throughout it all, he was going to try to remain strong.

He tilted his head up as another zoner raised a fist into the air. The knuckles came crashing against his jaw a second time. He thought he could feel the bones inside crack, and he could feel the soreness of the bruise already forming. He endured a few more punches, blood dribbling down the corner of his mouth. He could feel his body trembling in pain, his mouth open and taking in shuddered breaths. He could taste more iron in his mouth and he spat out. A glob of red formed on the ground.

Snap continued to glare daggers at the zoners. How cowardly were they? Just what kind of spineless fucker would do something like this? Tying down a small, helpless zoner like himself and surrounding him with several strong, able-bodied zoners to beat him up? Not that he was particularly helpless; if they wanted a more fair match, he'd give them a run for their money. But they were scared, weren't they? That would explain why they refused to actually behave like mature adults. Because they were incapable.

How long has this been going on for? He would imagine quite a while, actually. Time had been moving quite slowly, yet he was still somewhat aware of how long it's been taking. If he calculated right, probably half an hour. Well these guys were determined and tenacious and stubborn, he'd give them that much.

These zoners had been wanting him to tell them about Rapsheeba. That was their first, and currently only, question. They must really want to get at her for whatever reason, and he could not understand why. The only thing that he knew of was that party, and supposedly this had something to do with her connection with her creator. But still, Rapsheeba had never done anything to these guys. She did not deserve such a harsh attack. Yet these fuckers didn't care. He could try to explain it to them all he wanted to, and they still would refuse to listen to reason. The only thing that he could do to ensure her safety was to keep his mouth shut.

Not that it mattered to these stick figure zoners. They seemed more than happy to just keep attacking him, as if it did not matter. He seethed through clenched teeth, enduring a few more punches to the chest and arm. He had a feeling that he was going to get a few broken bones out of this. Yet he kept on fighting, kept on doing whatever he could to hang on. He had to do this for Rapsheeba. He just had to...

After one more strike, the head honcho of the whole thing let out a low growl, pulling his hand back and shaking it as though he had been striking something hard. "Yeesh.. He's still not talking."

Snap gave a small, faint smirk. "Of course I'm not talking, genius. Why the _hell_ would I ever tell you _anything?!_ "

The honcho guy laughed himself. A bit more loudly than Snap and a bit more pronounced. Snap struggled to keep his fearful responses to a minimum. He just glared at the zoner and kept his face contorted in anger. This did not bother this zoner one bit. "You are certainly brave, I will give you that. Or perhaps you really are stupid." He tilted his head to the side. "Everyone has a weak spot. We will just have to try harder to find yours."

"Hehehehe..." It was a bit difficult to get himself to laugh again considering the situation. But Snap would be damned if he let himself look afraid in front of this zoner. Or any of these zoners. He just bared his teeth at them and growled, "You're better off licking the marrow out of my bones than getting any information out of me."

Whatever response Snap thought he was going to get, this was not one of them. He did not expect the zoner's face to darken and contort like this. He did not expect him to lean in towards him. And he most certainly did not think that the zoner's eyes were going to glint in that manner.

"I think that can be arranged..." The zoner whispered, his breath hitting against his face. Snap could feel his eyes widen in horror at this, despite his best effort to remain as fearless-looking as possible. "I do hope it doesn't come to that, though. We would much rather get information from you rather than kill you."

Snap snarled as he turned his head to the side. "Too bad you weren't this understanding with Rapsheeba." He said, his voice laced with sarcasm."

The head honcho zoner widened his eyes momentarily before they narrowed into slits. "I see where you are going with this. And you are misunderstanding our intentions." The zoner held up his hand in gesture, his head tilted down and his eyes closed for a moment. "We just wanted to teach Rapsheeba a lesson. She had done something quite offensive that hurt so many." He shut his eyes tightly, his teeth gritting. "You cannot blame us for wanting some equality."

Although Snap had some indication of what he was talking about, namely that stick figure zoners often did get the short end of the stick when it came to designs and abilities, that didn't stop him from snapping back at this zoner, " _What the fuck are you talking about?!_ "

The zoner just stared down at Snap, cocking an eyebrow. "I know that you know exactly what I'm talking about. You knew of her party, right? You know why it was offensive too, don't you?"

Snap shook his head. "I don't even know what it was about. How am I to know?"

The zoners around him clearly did not believe him. Several called him a liar. Others wanted his head to get bonked a few more times. Some looked like they were moving in to attack. Snap looked left and right rapidly, gritting his teeth as he struggled to remain still and quiet. He tried not to lash out again and he tried not to let himself show too much fear. But that didn't stop his heart from racing inside of his chest. He knew full well what would happen if he were attacked by all these zoners at once. It would not be a pretty sight, and that was being optimistic.

But to his luck, as he was hesitantly willing to admit, the lead zoner did not seem ready to let them tear into him that easily. He kept them back, holding up his hands and making a few quick motions. This action was enough to force the zoners to keep back, but they still glared intently at Snap. The sight of this was quite uncomfortable. It was like watching kids ready to tear into a present. Only these zoners were going to tear into his flesh the moment that the leader permitted them to.

For now, though, the leader looked more interested in keeping him all for himself. It was almost as though he had some kind of hidden agenda or something. Whatever it was, Snap was not all that interested in finding out. He just glared at the zoners before him, struggling against his binds, shouting back at them, reiterating his unwillingness to divulge any information.

"I will not let you fuckers hurt Rapsheeba! Lay one paw on her and I will tear you apart!"

The head zoner stared at him long and hard for several moments. The air around them got pretty icy and heavy. Snap could feel his heart beating against his chest. He struggled to keep himself still and quiet, not wanting these zoners to get the better of him. He pulled his head back as the leader leaned in towards him. He could feel his hand on his arm, squeezing it tightly.

"You are absolutely sure about that?" The head zoner asked, looking at him almost quizzically. "Positive that nothing will change your mind?"

Snap knew that he was not going to like what happened next. But despite that, he still kept himself straightened and he still glared back. He kept his teeth exposed and gritted, a low hiss escaping from them. He adamantly shook his head stiffly from side to side. "I would rather have my limbs ripped off than tell you anything..."

The zoner that hovered over him blinked his eyes a few times slowly. Then he sighed and leaned back. "Well if _that_ is how you feel about things..."

Snap asked, "Wait, what...?"

The head honcho ignored him as he turned his head over his shoulder. He eyed the zoners carefully before lifting up a hand and pointing at a few specific ones. After jerking his finger a few times, saying 'you' each time, he turned his attention back to Snap. He remained eerily silent as the other zoners approached slowly, their eyes glued to Snap. The sneers on their faces held so many hidden promises. Snap could already feel himself wanting to throw up.

There were no more words spoken. There was no need for them; it was obvious where this was going to head. Snap tried his damnest to escape. He wriggled himself from side to side in his chair. But try as he might, it just was not good enough. He couldn't even get the chair to wriggle a little. He looked up at the zoners before him, his eyes widening in horror.

Finally, the head zoner spoke. "You know what to do..."

"N-No..wait...I..." Snap tried to say. He wasn't able to finish, cut off by the sudden onslaught of pain as the zoners began to claw at his limbs. "Aaaah!" He screamed, agony spreading throughout his body.

sss

Rudy and Penny's minds raced, their hearts pounding against their chests. They struggled to move as quickly as they could, wanting to get to their destination as soon as possible. They could hear the words still buzzing around inside of their heads. They didn't want to believe it. They wanted to just keep going. They wanted to find out the truth. They refused to accept any reality but the truth.

They still couldn't believe what Blocky had told them. They wanted to think that it was some _cruel, sick joke_. But Blocky wasn't one to make such jokes. Why would he? He was just too sweet and innocent to do such a thing. For him to make such a claim, it had to be dead serious. The thought broke their hearts. They hoped that he was mistaken somehow, or that he was put up to this. There was just no way that Snap would do something like this. There was just no way...

The two children continued to rush towards Snap's house in the Day Zone. That was the last place anybody saw him apparently. Or was it that was where everybody saw him go? They didn't know anymore. And they honestly didn't care. They just wanted to head over as quickly as they could and hope they could find Snap there. Then they would speak to him and try to clear up this misunderstanding.

The idea of Snap doing something like that was...gut wrenching. He knew how dangerous the stick figure group was. They had seen just how angry he was about it. They did not want to think that this anger was just a way to hide his true feelings.

No, it was not. They both knew Snap better than that. They knew that he'd never do this. It pained them to know that Blocky seemed to think that he turned his back on him. It made them wonder just why he'd make such a claim. Had the stick figure zoner group done something to make him believe that? Or was poor Blocky so confused that he had no idea how else to interpret it?

Whatever the reason, Rudy and Penny were determined to solve the mystery once and for all.

The two of them continued to go forward swiftly, their feet pounding the ground heavily. They could feel the vibrations with each step. They ignored them to the best of their ability and just kept on running, gritting their teeth tightly. They kept moving around, avoiding obstacles, jumping over rocks, barely dodging the occasional zoner. They could feel the soft wind against their face, the Day Zone sun shining down upon them. If it weren't for the sense of urgency, they would have just enjoyed this brisk run.

Eventually, they made it over another hill, and then down below, they could see Snap's house. They stood on the hill for a few seconds, looking around the area below them. They couldn't really see anything that hinted that Snap was going to come out, nor did they see anything strange or unusual on the outside like this. It was just...an ordinary house. Rudy and Penny glanced at each other. Should this be taken as a good thing or a bad thing?

Not willing to answer that right away, the two children rushed towards the house below them. Their hearts seemed to pump blood faster and tighten harder as they got closer. Adrenaline swirled through their heads and they weren't able to just rest. They had to keep moving. They had to see this through the end, no matter how uncomfortable that it made them. They had to...

Soon, taking in a sharp breath, Rudy made the first and possibly most difficult move in this situation: knock on the door.

"Hey Snap...? Are you there? We have to talk."

He waited for a few seconds. He watched the door intently. He had fully expected Snap to come walking up to the door and answering it. He had expected to see Snap's face staring right at him. But instead, he was greeted by nothingness. The realization that Snap was not coming caused Rudy's heart to twist up into a tight knot. Biting his lip, the boy tried again.

"Snap? Come on, answer the door."

But still, there was nothing. Rudy repeated this about two more times with the same result. Even when he knocked harder and faster, even when he spoke more loudly, there was still nothing at all. He finally lowered his hand and stared over at Penny, feeling unusually helpless. Penny looked as uncertain as he did.

But it was still early, right? It was still way too soon to call any of this. It was a bit too quick to make a judgment call, right? Maybe Snap was just taking a shower or something. Yeah, that had to be it. They had come over when he was trying to bathe and he didn't get to the front door nor could he shout loud enough over the roar of the running water. This whole situation with the stick figures was driving them insane, making them jump to conclusions too easily. They needed to keep calm.

Knowing that they were always welcome inside of Snap's house, Rudy grabbed the door knob and pushed it open. The fact that it wasn't locked did not surprise him. He looked over his shoulder and gestured for Penny to follow him in. The two friends headed in deeper into the house, shutting the door behind them.

They didn't see anything that different inside. More quietness, a little bit of a mess here or there but stuff that was to be expected. At first, from what they were able to see, they hadn't really noticed anything that felt super out of place, or anything that plainly obvious. Perhaps they really were just freaking out over nothing. That was something of a relief, then. That was so much better than what they had thought had...

Rudy immediately froze when he happened to stand in front of the kitchen. Even out of the corner of his eyes, he could already tell something was wrong. There was a glinting that he could only just barely detect. It was enough to make him flinch and seethe. He looked over to see what it was. He could feel his eyes widening.

Wasn't that Snap's favorite cup? What was it doing in pieces on the ground..? Snap would _never... Would he...?_ Rudy licked his lips slowly, fighting against the bitterness on his tongue, as he walked over into the kitchen, taking cautious step after cautious step.

Penny had taken notice of the shattered glass immediately. "Oh no... You don't think..." It would seem that she was having similar thoughts as him.

Rudy could not bring himself to answer her. All he could do was just keep walking towards the pile of broken glass on the ground. There were not too many pieces. He could still make out the decorations and indentations he had given it. He remembered the day that he had drawn it for him. Wasn't it on his first creation day? Yeah, he remembered that day clearly. He could never forget that moment.

Rudy knelt to the ground. Very carefully, he grabbed onto the piece of glass and lifted it up, staring at it intently. He licked his lips slowly. He knew that Snap would never dream of doing something like this to one of his gifts for him. Something must have happened. There was no other explanation. This gift was just way too precious for Snap to just...

"Ahh!" Penny cried out behind him.

Rudy, startled, whirled his head out and stared at Penny in shock. " _What?! What is it?!_ " He cried without thinking. He could see Penny standing there, shaking with emotion. Her hand was raised up and pointing in one direction. Rudy followed the trail of her quivering fingertip and eventually he could see where it was leading his gaze.

There was something on the ground. Dark and almost merged with the carpeting itself. Rudy stared at it intently, wondering what it could be. He bet nothing good, if Penny's reaction was anything to go by. Rudy bit his lip as he started to strode over slowly. Step by step, he made his way to the dark spot, his eyes refusing to leave it.

Slowly but surely, he got close enough to get a good look at this particular spot. And what he saw caused him to gasp loudly, his eyes bulging, unable to look away. He wanted to believe that it was something else. He wanted to believe that he was somehow mistaken. He did not want to think that this could be possible. He had to have looked at it wrong. He had to have misinterpreted it somehow. But as he looked even more closely, as he could detect the scent lingering on his nostrils, he knew that it could not be anything else.

It was _blood._

 _Snap's_ blood...

Rudy could feel his own blood running cold at this. He stared long and hard at the blood stain, his body trembling. He shook his head slowly from side to side, not willing or wanting to believe what he was he knew it to be true. And at this realization, several thoughts raced rapidly through his mind, the rush of adrenaline burning into his stomach.

There was only one thing that he thought could have happened. He knew that Snap would not have hurt himself. He wasn't like that. Someone else had to have hurt him. Someone had broken into Snap's own home. Someone had carried him off somewhere. Someone had kidnapped him.

And he had a good idea on who that was.

His eyes narrowing, he swiveled his head over to Penny. His movement was so fast that it startled Penny, making the girl jolt, leaning herself away from him. Rudy did feel some guilt as he saw the way that she was looking at him. But he did not pay much attention as he called out to her, "We have to talk to Rapsheeba."

Penny stared at him for a moment. Then she nodded in agreement. The two human children instantly took off, heading towards Rapsheeba's house.


	16. Bait And Switch

It was plain to see the horror on the singer zoner's face. Even if they had been several, countless feet away, only able to see her just a little, it was too clear cut the expression that she was giving. And it was not just her face that did it; her body was trembling as well, painting a complete and unsettling picture.

Penny could feel her heart twisting about inside of her chest. It hadn't been easy informing Rapsheeba of what had happened. Or at least, whatever she and Rudy could tell what had happened. They still didn't know all of the details. But what they did know for sure is that Snap was indeed missing. And he had been injured in some shape or form. They had their ideas on what could have happened, though. Which was partly what brought them to Rapsheeba in the first place.

"I-I can't believe that this...happened... _I_..." Rapsheeba's tongue tripped inside of her mouth constantly as she struggled to speak. Her eyes darted left and right, her teeth gritting tightly. She opened her mouth to speak, but at first all she could do was take in another shuddering breath. More tears flowed down her face. "I never meant to.."

"We know that." Penny whispered. She moved closer to Rapsheeba on the couch. She slung her arm around her trembling body, hoping to help her calm down. These actions didn't stop her from crying, but it did still seem to help anyway. "We don't blame you for what happened."

"Yeah, you couldn't have known." Rudy moved in a little closer, his feet tapping the ground as he went. He stopped in front of Rapsheeba, his eyes staring intently at her. He held one of his hands up to his chin, folded into something kind of like a fist bu not. More thoughtful in its appearance. "But we do still need to know if there's anything else that you hadn't told us about these zoners." He sounded a bit firm there, but it was understandable given the situation. "Please, if there's anything that you haven't.."

"I told you, there's nothing else." Rapsheeba cut him off. Both Rudy and Penny were surprised by how cutting this was. Out of nowhere... Rapsheeba panted a little heavier, her eyes narrowed slightly, before she seemed to realize what she did. She widened her eyes and gave a small gasp. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Penny shook her head. "No, you have every right to be upset. You were recently attacked and now Snap is _gone_.."

Rapsheeba lowered her head. "I just can't believe they would go after him."

Rudy raised a finger up. "Well we are not one hundred percent certain that they did." Rapsheeba looked up at Rudy in confusion. The boy continued, "But there is a good chance they were involved. They're the most likely candidates."

"What about Skrawl...?" Whispered Rapsheeba.

Rudy and Penny exchanged quick glances at this. They could understand why Rapsheeba would reach that conclusion. In fact, it was one of their earlier thoughts as well as they came here. It did almost seem like something that Skrawl would do.

But that was the thing. That 'almost'... Something about this seemed wrong. Something about it didn't add up. They couldn't quite put their fingers on it. They struggled and they tried, but they could not fully justify Skrawl doing this. The reason? Skrawl would most likely have left a note behind. He was more interested in Rudy and Penny than Snap. Especially Rudy. It just felt out of place for Skrawl to be involved, if no note was actually left behind.

But the stick figure group? They could easily have taken Snap to 'teach him a lesson'. And then later decide to use him as bait. It was easy to believe that they would do something like this without really thinking completely of what the plan was going to be.

"We have our reasons to think otherwise." There was little else Rudy needed to say. That about covered it. "Now, if you don't mind..." Rudy moved in a little closer. He reached out towards Rapsheeba. "If there's anything else that happened..." His hand soon touched the uncertain zoner's shoulder. "You have to tell us. Snap is in danger. We need to know as much as we can about this."

Penny nodded in agreement. "Do you even know why Blocky would say that he joined the stick figure group?"

Rapsheeba looked just as shocked as she did the first time she heard that statement. She bit her lip firmly as she seemed to struggle with her mind. She eventually shook her head, looking at them sorrowfully. "I really don't know. He might have..seen something wrong. Like perhaps he thought Snap went willingly with them or...?"

"That doesn't make any sense." Rudy folded his arms to himself. He looked at the ground and tapped his foot. "Snap knew the dangers of them. He wouldn't have..." He looked back at Rapsheeba. "What of the blood? Did he see any blood?"

Rapsheeba shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head. "I wouldn't know."

"But there _has_ to be a..."

"I thought of something."

Rudy and Rapsheeba turned to stare at Penny. She did feel a bit of a burdenship being placed upon her at this. She did her best to remain calm and collected, however, knowing the importance of the situation. She did have a thought that crossed her mind. Something that Rudy did not seem to realize himself. Heck, it was almost lucky Penny thought of it just now.

Clearing her throat, she said, "What if he was forced to walk with the zoners? Perhaps he was threatened and he was being marched somewhere? And Blocky just so happened to see it?" She raised her hand up in gesture. "It does seem likely that he just misinterpreted what he saw. And he doesn't even know the full extent of the dangers of this group, does he?"

Rudy looked to the side. "Perhaps not. That does explain some things. But..." He gave Penny a sideways glance. "I guess I just don't get why he would think that at all given that he knows Snap." He tapped his finger thoughtfully. "Maybe he misheard something or..." He then waved his hands about in the air, shutting his eyes for a moment. "Wait, why are we dwelling on this?" He looked back at Rapsheeba. "Back on topic, was there anything that you..."

"Rudy, maybe she doesn't know anything else." Penny felt a little bad about interrupting so suddenly. But she could see the continued distress in Rapsheeba's eyes and she knew all of this talking was not going to do them any good. Rudy was only going to make it worse if he kept pressing on like this. "We've already talked to her and she told us what she could. We should be thinking about a plan of action right now."

Rudy stared at Penny for a moment, and then looked at Rapsheeba. He studied her face, and his own contorted with a level of regret. He released a sigh as he lowered his head. "..yeah...you're right.." He shook his head slowly. "I'm...sorry. I didn't mean to sound so pushy."

Rapsheeba looked a bit more comfortable now that they were moving beyond that particular part of the topic. But she did not seem too upset. "It's all right... I just..." She moved her fingers through her hair nervously. "I wish I could have been of more help."

"You provided us with enough information." Penny said gently, giving her a smile. Then her face furrowed into seriousness. "I suggest we figure out something and quick. Who knows how long Snap has...?"

Silence immediately fell upon them. They looked at each other worriedly, each clenching their teeth, showing signs of worry and uncertainty. They all understood that what Penny said was correct. They had to hurry. They had to think of something, of wherever those zoners might have gone, and rescue him. They had no idea how they were going to manage to do this, but they had to at least try. Snap's life could very well be on the line.

Of course, they'd have to think of a place to start. Where were they going to try first? What could they first attempt? Should they discuss one thing or the other? It was difficult to say and there was much that was riding on this decision. The uncomfortable silence certainly didn't help anything, causing Penny to narrow her eyes slowly.

Then, as if out of the blue, something crossed her mind.

"Hey, Rapsheeba... What did you say the leader sounded like..?"

sss

With another scream, Snap nearly collapsed in the chair he was strapped in. With his eyes wide open, he struggled to breathe, his mouth hanging open, sucking in air after air, trying to make himself relax. But it seemed almost as though, no matter how hard that he tried, it was not going to work. He just could not bring himself to settle down.

And how could he? Knowing that the pain was just going to continue...

He felt another slash along his arm. He seethed and bit his tongue, trying to avoid himself screaming loudly. He could feel his body shuddering and he felt tears moving down his face. He struggled not to scream. That was impossible, however. Soon another cry was released from his open mouth.

 _Oh gawd, the pain_... He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand it... He could feel it echoing throughout his body. He could feel himself trembling uncontrollably. He could feel his mind continue to spin like he was on some kind of plate. His eyes bulged wide open as sharpness entered his arm once more. He could feel more blood being dribbled down his arm, and there was nothing that could stop him from screaming. Even as his throat continued to get dryer and dryer, he couldn't stop. It was impossible.

The zoners around him were amused by his pain. No laughing or any gloating. Just sneers and smirks, their expressions clearly showing him that they were enjoying his suffering. They were enjoying it because they felt they were going to get something out of it. Snap struggled to prove them wrong. He had to be strong. He had to fight against this. No matter what happened, he couldn't allow them to have their way.

This was not going to be an easy task, however. He didn't know what else they were going to do with him. And already they caused a lot of damage to him. He forced himself to open his eyes to look down at his damaged body.

The stick figures had butchered up his arms so far. And they had done so almost expertly. They hadn't hindered his ability to move it physically; mostly what held him back was the pain. They had specifically targeted certain areas to ensure maximum pain with the least amount of damage required. This allowed them to slice up his arm some more without fear of him dying on them. A part of Snap wondered if that would have been a far better fate.

He tried once more to struggle in the chair. He twisted himself from side to side, attempting to yank out his arm. But his attempts kept on failing. He just couldn't do it, no matter what he tried or did. He seethed through his clenched teeth as the cold blade sliced apart a bit of muscle before leaving his flesh. He dared to stare over at the knife and he gasped at the blood staining the metallic, shining blade.

"Are you ready to talk yet?" Asked the lead zoner. He had remained back for the past several minutes, allowing this to continue. He did not seem at all fazed by all the marks given to Snap. To him, it was merely a nonchalant thing. "Or do you _still_ need some 'encouragement'?"

Snap was torn between two answers. His desperate, panicking side wanted to just cave in. Both of his arms felt like they were on fire. He knew that he wouldn't be able to use them for quite a while. Already he was looking at a long recovery time. That wasn't even getting into what damage to his legs would cost him. So a part of him was almost tempted to just say something in hopes of being relieved of this pain.

But the other part of him still fought against revealing anything. This part of himself wanted to remain stoic, wanted to keep fighting, wanted to ensure that these zoners don't get anything out of him. He was determined to not be taken in by them so easily. He couldn't let himself be so weak. He couldn't let them win. He had to go along with this. Even death should not deter him.

The stick figures glared at him, getting ready to take action again. He could see the main knife used on him being held up. The other zoners had some blood caked on their hands, having used their finger tips to claw at his flesh initially, making it all red, even his legs. This made the areas more tender to the touch and made the knife hurt even more when it entered his skin. And it was plain as day that they were eager to start up again.

But despite the fear that was crawling up inside of his throat, despite his heart racing against his chest, Snap still remained as defiant as ever. "F-Fuck you all to hell..." He growled under his breath. "Y-You think this is much? _Ha_... I've seen w-w-worse..."

This caused the zoners around him to glare more deeply. Snap managed to smirk back at them despite what he was going through inside of his head. Did he believe that this would change anything? Not really. But it was still such a feeling to have, knowing that he was still keeping their goal out away from them.

The lead stick figure just raised his eyebrow like he had before. Still unfazed, still just shrugging nonchalantly like this was all some sort of casual game for him. "If you _insist_..." With a wave of his hand, he prompted the zoners to continue.

Snap released a gasp of pain as he felt the knife going into his leg this time. His right one had been targeted. He tried to kick out to protect himself, but the zoner doing this just gripped his leg tightly, forcing it to hold still. Snap wriggled about in the secured chair as the knife sliced through his leg meat slowly. Deeper and slower than with his arm, the agony intensified and Snap found himself starting to do something he had so desperately tried to prevent.

He started to sob.

Snap had already let out a few sobs earlier, barely managing to stop them. But now it's become more full bloom. The loud whimpers almost seemed as loud as his screaming, echoing throughout the air. His whole body seemed to make a weird S-like movement as he tried to keep breathing, panicking. He tossed his head from side to side the entire time the knife moved through his leg. He let out a loud gasp as the knife was suddenly yanked out of him. A brief moment of relief before his body reminded him of what happened, pain sizzling through like grease spreading along a heated skillet.

And he knew that this was going to keep continuing. He knew that these zoners were not going to stop. He knew of only one way to stop the pain but... No, they would just keep hurting him anyway. It didn't matter what he did. Not anymore.

Snap let out a scream as the zoner plunged the knife deep into his half, drawing out more blood. Special care was not taken to the same degree, the zoner apparently opting instead for more actual damage as a way to 'motivate' him. Snap's body trembled harder and he whimpered and cried louder. Eventually he forced his eyes open and stared at the zoner before him. He couldn't take it any longer. This had to stop.

"P-Please stop... D-Don't do this anymore..." Snap's shaky, faded voice said. "N-No more...please."

The zoner sneered as they pulled the knife away. The head zoner was the one who began to speak. "Are you ready to talk...?"

Snap hesitated. He.. Could he really do something like that? Could he turn his back on everyone just to save himself from this pain? His mind was being messed with. He was being manipulated by it, the pain making him desperate. In this moment of clarity, he knew what would happen if he allowed himself to be so controlled by this. He had to try to...

"I take that as a no, then."

Snap stared at the lead zoner in shock. He was about to speak up, about to inform the zoner that he hadn't given him a chance to reply. It had only been a few seconds. But it was too late. The lead zoner was not going to listen to him at this point. And as he gave a nod to the zoner who had been hurting him, Snap gasped and tensed and shook as the knife was pushed against his ankle, into the space where his tendons were.

" _Aaaahhh!_ " Snap's screams reverberated against the walls.

sss

"Well, I suppose it's all decided then..." Rudy said softly. He looked at Penny and Rapsheeba, waiting to see if they had anything else they wanted to add. When they remained silent, he pulled his head back and said, "We are going to head to the next town over."

Those words sounded so final. It was almost like he was giving some kind of a cruel sentence. Yet they all knew, deep down, that it was their best option. ChalkZone City might not yield the answers that they want. So the next best thing was to head into another nearby city. What was the name of it? Rudy couldn't remember. He had only heard it mentioned once and he recalled something about it being located closer to hostile territory.

The idea caused him to swallow nervously. He remembered what Biclops had stated before. He recalled the giant warning them of such places, how they may run into zoners less than happy to see creators coming in. Rudy knew that it was such a huge risk. But he understood that they had _very little_ options. If they wanted to have a chance at finding out anything, this was the best place to look.

He recalled Penny being the one to ultimately come up with this idea. He had been nervous about it, but she did make a good point. The way that the zoner talked did not seem like something they heard zoners around here speak. Not so much in the words, but how they were said. It was subtle and almost undetectable. But Rapsheeba had mentioned it in passing before, and Penny brought it up again. It was easy to determine that if the accept was slightly different than most of the residents here, then there's a good chance that these zoners did indeed come from another city. Not exactly a groundbreaking idea, but it still gave them something to work off of.

With this in mind, they discussed nearby cities, if any one of them were different enough from ChalkZone City, if any of them could be potential breeding grounds for hostile behavior. And there was one. Rapsheeba's description made Rudy think of that city Biclops mentioned, and it took a few moments for him to click in with his mind that yes, this was indeed the same place.

Rudy felt his tongue going over his lips a little as he tried to determine whether or not this was a good idea. A part of him wanted to just try it, hoping to get information, or even finding Snap. That would be awesome. But they would still be potentially heading into enemy territory. They would need to be careful, lest they accidentally land themselves in danger. They would not be able to help Snap that well if they were captured, now would they?

"How do you think we should get there?" Asked Rudy, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "I mean, we have to get there quickly somehow." He raised his hand up slowly in gesture. "If we use perhaps a vehicle or.."

"That might not be a good idea." Rapsheeba chimed in. "That place... I've heard stories about it. It might not be that bad, _but_..." She bit her lip, swallowing hard. "If it's anything like I heard, if those zoners are pretty anti-creator, then they might get suspicious seeing a bunch of high tech gear coming their way all of a sudden."

"True, but we also can't walk." Penny pointed out. "That would result in them noticing us faster and reacting accordingly." She looked upwards as she put on a more thoughtful expression. She stayed like this for a few seconds as her mind's gears were clearly turning about. "And like you said, Rapsheeba, it might not be that terrible."

"There had to be a reason Biclops didn't want us going there." Rudy argued. He had a finger raised up as he grabbed Penny and Rapsheeba's attention. "Why else would he have warned us? Something must be wrong with that place. He did say it could be hostile."

"But he never said why, did he?" Penny inquired.

"I..." Rudy didn't have a response for that. He knew that Penny was right.

Biclops never did go into detail about that. Rudy had his own thoughts, some of which he had nearly just mistaken as truth. But he never could forget the urgency in the giant's voice, the seriousness that his tone took. There was no way Biclops would ever look at him that way unless there was a very good reason for it. And that reason, as far as Rudy could tell, coincided with a level of danger. One that they should take caution with.

It's not that he wouldn't be happy if it turned out to be less dangerous than Biclops implied. Heck, he would be all for that. It was just.. would it be safe to assume that it's safe? After what they've been through, the answer was an obvious 'yes'.

"You're still right, though. We do still need to be careful." Penny said. There was no arguing against this statement. "Perhaps we should stop by the Chalk Mine to get some magic chalk to prepare?"

Rudy nodded his head slowly in agreement. There was no way that he would disagree with that. A bag full of magic chalk would be handy going to such an unknown location. He thought about how he was going to talk to Biclops about this. How would he convince the giant to give him and Penny that much chalk for this mission? Should he even tell Biclops where he was going?

Before he could finish that statement in his head, he could hear Rapsheeba clearing out her throat. He turned to look at her. He half expected her to ask if that was all that they needed. She did look mentally exhausted from all of this. He'd understand, as well as Penny, if she wanted to take a break from this and just stay behind. She did have Zibble and Blotz to look after. He wouldn't want anything happening to them.

But instead, he heard Rapsheeba say something that he did not expect. Something that caught him and Penny off guard.

"Can you take me with you?"

Rudy and Penny glanced at one another, wondering how they were going to answer this question. They stared back at Rapsheeba. The silence hunkered over them, unrelenting. Just how should they answer?

sss

Pascal stood with their arms folded. They leaned against the nearest wall in the room, their foot tapping against the ground slowly. Their narrowed eyes stared at the zoner before them. This zoner who had been the one to lead the torture upon their little captive. They could see plain as day the number done on the little guy.

They had to admit, Snap must have been quite resilient to have made it this far. His arms were heavily damaged as well as his legs. His limbs were going to be useless to him. And from the looks of things, it seemed as though the torment was going to continue. More screams sounded out, but Pascal merely shrugged. While the zoners made quick work of him, they turned their head away a little more, keeping their gaze on the lead zoner.

"Has he said anything?" Pascal asked.

The lead zoner shook their head. "Nothing more than what I have already told you, sir."

 _Hmm_... That didn't really shock Pascal all that much, but it would have been nice to get some sort of update. Perhaps it had been a good thing that the torture commenced some more. There was still more that could be done to Snap before he would be too damaged for torture. They didn't want him dead yet.

But it wasn't like this had been a huge waste of time or anything. Far from it, this had been one of their smartest moves yet. It not only provided them with further information, but it also satisfied the stick figures' desires. With them satiated, it should be easy for them to keep control over them. Of course, it would be smart to speak with Jonathan and Jax first just to make sure. They would go do that after the situation with Snap was taken care of first. It would be... _quite_ the 'tragedy' if they slipped this up.

Another bloodcurdling scream caused them to jump slightly. They hadn't expected Snap to scream quite that loudly. What mighty little lungs he has... They turned their head enough to see what was going on. They couldn't stop themselves from flinching and jerking to the side when they saw the knife going along his face. They imagined it was only a matter of time before one of his eyes goes. Unless he spoke again, which they had doubts that he would. Then again, was anyone _truly this_ resilient?

Shaking their head, they commented, "He's being pretty _unreasonable_."

The lead zoner snarled softly. "Yeah, he's quite impossible. We haven't been able to make him break completely. I've never seen anyone resist this much torture before."

"You've never tortured anyone before, actually. I should know. I've had run-ins with your leader in the past."

The lead zoner flinched at this, but said nothing else.

Pascal smiled at this. "You know I'm right, don't you?" Still no response. Pascal just shrugged at this. Doesn't really matter anyway. They were not here to judge. "Well inform me if there's any updates with him. Anything that you manage to squeeze out of him, I must know."

"Oh don't worry. You can count on us." The lead zoner said, their voice a bit forced. "We will get everything that we can out of this zoner's mouth. We will milk him for all that he's worth." A pause. Then, "Which isn't much but I'm sure it'll be enough."

Pascal wasn't surprised to hear such a low statement. Just a desperate attempt to try to make himself feel more important. With all the shit stick figures go through, it was part for the course. This lead zoner would never admit it, but it was plain as day that he was jealous of Snap. Jealous of the detail that was put into him. Jealous that he was given a real purpose. Such jealousy drove envy-filled statements like that, no matter how untrue they may be.

No point in sticking around here, though. Pascal had came for what they wanted. It was a shame that, so far, all they managed to get out of him is that his friends were all living in ChalkZone City, which was not something any of them didn't know about already. But they imagined, with a little more of a push, Snap might relinquish some information. It was only a matter of time.

Without looking back, Pascal turned and walked away. They left the zoners to do their thing. They left Snap to his fate, whatever he decided it would be. It was up to Snap how long the torture would last. If he ends up even more maimed, it was his own fault. Pascal disappeared down the hallway, hearing Snap's loud screaming continue to echo along the walls, reverberating about like some sort of large instrument.

Perhaps now was a good time to go talk with Jax. He shouldn't be too far away. And they had ways of speaking with him. Whatever Skrawl had promised, they would simply undo it. That jellybean stood little chance of maintaining complete control. But they wouldn't mind pulling him along for the ride. It might be quite fun, actually.

They stopped for a moment when they saw movement up ahead. Tensing their body up briefly, they moved along the wall to see who it was. The large bulking shape of Skrawl emerged and soon disappeared. Pascal stopped for a moment, narrowing their eyes and growling softly. They wondered just what that jellybean was up to this time. They let out a sigh. They would worry about it later.

Now to find Jax. Down this way, correct? This seemed like the right place to go. They could feel it in their bones. They proceeded to head down, their mind swirling with thoughts. Despite knowing that they could control this, there was still that worry that they could lose a bit of control and...

No, it would be fine. They weren't going to let some jellybean get to them like that.

sss

So it was decided. No one argued about it. No one had anything to say against it. Because, well, what _could_ they say? They all agreed that it was the best option, even if they did not fully agree with it. And who knows? Maybe they would come to appreciate this as time goes on. Maybe it will prove to be the right decision.

At least, Rudy hoped so. He didn't want to drag Rapsheeba into a situation that could get her hurt. He didn't want her to get ambushed again. He didn't think he could handle the guilt if that happened.

But in the end, he did agree that she would be safer with them. The stick figure zoners didn't know many people connected to her in a more direct way. They had Snap, yes, but that was all they knew. So Blotz and Zibble should be just fine where they are now. If they ensured that they stayed behind in this home, hidden away from sight, then the stick figures would not know that they exist. And they would not be targeted.

Telling them to stay behind hadn't been easy. Of course the two children wanted to know what was going on. They wanted to know where they were going to head. He and Penny didn't know exactly how they were going to respond to this question. They struggled as hard as they could to think of a response. But nothing would come to mind.

However, Rapsheeba took over for them. It would seem that she had an idea already. She simply told them that they were on an important business trip and that they had to remain behind for their own good. Zibble and Blotz naturally rejected this answer. They tried to be more firm about this, adamantly wanting to go as well. But Rapsheeba was even firmer, strict about wanting them to stay behind where it was safe. Eventually the two child zoners gave up and accepted this decision. Rudy watched as they headed back into the house, looking frustrated and disappointed. Rudy wanted to say something, but knowing they had a schedule to keep, he turned his head away.

It was time for them to head on down to that city. He didn't really know what they were going to find. But the sooner they left for it, the better. And they were all in this together. They could do this. He believed in them.

Without saying a word, the group began to make their way down along the path. Rudy looked down at the map he had drawn a while back. There was a mark indicating where their destination was roughly at. It looked like they would reach it pretty soon, even if they only walked. He narrowed his eyes slowly into slits as they all kept a brisk pace. He mentally prepared himself for what he was about to see in this dreadful city. _Was it as bad as Biclops had told them...?_

sss

"Looks like they're leaving already." Mumbled Zibble as she stared out of the window of their bedroom. The small figures that she recognized as Rudy, Penny, and Rapsheeba kept getting increasingly smaller as they continued towards...wherever it is they were going off to.

Blotz let out a small groan behind her. "I don't get why they didn't want us to come with." He was laying on the bed, his arms and legs stretched out, staring at the ceiling. "What are they keeping from us?"

Zibble shook her head slowly. "I really wish that I knew."

Blotz shot up in the bed. "Well it just isn't fair! There's no reason why we couldn't come with! We could help them! Whatever they needed to do..."

"But they might think we're too small to help." Zibble said sadly.

"Snap is small and they always let him tag along!"

"That's because Snap had proven himself."

Zibble couldn't really disagree with what her brother said about the unfairness. It really did feel like that. Snap was pretty small and yet was allowed to go on adventures with the two creators. But themselves? She and her brother never were able to attend one. The last few times that they tried, they ended up being forced to stay home, guarded by Rapsheeba to ensure that they didn't try to follow.

It was an irritating thing that they learned to live with. The only thing that she could think of is that it was not so much their size alone, but that coupled with their youngness. They hadn't been around as long as Snap, at least not fully created. The zoners did not count their ghost forms as actual zoners; only their completed forms. And in that case, it hadn't actually been that long. Snap had seniority on them.

But that was just stupid. Zoners didn't have a perfect sense on age. That was because age was relative to them. Age did not hold as much water as it would in the Real World. Zoners could be instantly created into adult bodies, or stay in young ones forever. There was no getting around it unless they were designed to age. In the end, zoners lacked ages, and the more that Zibble thought about this, the more that she realized her theory didn't make much sense. So that could not be the reason.

So perhaps it really was due to their smallness. Maybe they were believed to be too weak to follow. Maybe everyone really was underestimating them. The realization was quite irritating and she found herself grinding her teeth at this. She wished that there was a way that she and Blotz could prove themselves. But that would be hard if they weren't even willing to give them a chance... Especially if they were constantly watched and...

 _...wait..._

They were not being watched right now, were they...?

Zibble could feel her eyes sparking with this realization. She took in a few slow, deep breaths, feeling some kind of energy shooting through her body. She slowly turned her head as she looked at her brother on the bed. He could her stare and his head jolted slightly, wondering what she was looking at him for. They stayed like this a while before Zibble finally spoke.

"I have an idea..." Zibble whispered softly.

Blotz blinked slowly, clearly wondering where she was getting at. "What are you saying?"

"Well there's nobody watching us here right now, is there?" Zibble held out her hands, indicating the area that they were in. She watched her brother looking around, following her lead. "There is no one to stop us if we decided to follow."

"But wouldn't they get mad?" Asked Blotz cautiously. "I mean, I want to go as much as you, but what if..."

"They might be in danger. They might end up needing our help." Zibble tried to sound as authoritative as possible. She hoped she was at least somewhat convincing. "They might even thank us. You do want to prove to them that we are not useless, don't you?"

"Yeah..." Blotz said slowly, keeping his gaze down. "I-I just..."

"Then let's get going." Zibble said, her eyes narrowing. "We should get going before they get too far away. We don't want to lose them."

After a little more chatting, trying to decide how they were going to do this, the two child zoners decided to head on out. They first grabbed a few things. A small bag with a bit of food, water, and knives as weapons. Once they were all settled in with that, they proceeded out of the door. Slowly, though; they didn't want to be too loud. There wasn't a lot of room to hide and if the others saw that they were leaving... Okay good, the coast was clear, allowing the two children to proceed.

A part of them did feel a little bad about doing this behind their backs. They didn't really mean to be disrespectful. They understood that they were taking a risk; but those there also took a risk at all. And there was still a chance that they might end up needing them. And as their friends, they could not allow themselves to just hang back, letting them get into danger.

So far, it didn't seem so bad following them like this. It was mostly just a matter of keeping themselves hidden. Since there was much distance between them and the others, the odds of being seen at this point was pretty slim. But they still needed to be careful.

And it wasn't just Rudy, Penny, and Rapsheeba they had to be cautious of. There was the terrain itself. It was getting increasingly bumpy, entangled in vines and foliage. The trio were going through a forested area, and it was only going to get more veggie-tized as they moved in deeper. Thankfully they brought the knives along, which made the process of going through a lot easier. Now to keep following them...

After a while of walking, her legs burning and exhausted, Zibble had to lean against something for support. She was getting tired already? They hadn't walked that far, and if they didn't keep up, they were going to lose them and...

This was because she and Blotz didn't walk long distances often, wasn't it? They also don't tend to pace themselves. They waste their energy too fast. They should have thought about this before they headed on out. They should have prepared themselves a little more. Well they had made it this far. They might as well keep on going.

They stopped for the time being. Not for long. Just to grab some water to drink. They needed to keep themselves hydrated if they wanted to keep going on like this. They were going to keep traveling pretty far. She guessed that they would have to walk like this for maybe another half hour, all through this foliage and vines and tall grass and thickly populated trees. If they wanted the energy for that, they would have to...

Suddenly she heard a twig snapping. She jolted straight up, looking left and right quickly. Blotz immediately adopted a defensive stance, his hands balling up into fists, his teeth bared. The two children looked left and right swiftly, hoping to locate the source of that sound. But there was just...nothing. No sign of anything.

This did not help them relax. If anything, it only made it far worse. What if there was someone coming in slowly, sneaking up on them, ready to strike? What if they were to turn around and suddenly one of them jumped on top of them? The thought caused them to shiver. They could not allow something like that to happen. They had to be prepared. They had to...

With a quick flash, a colored blur covering her eyes, Zibble found herself being forced into the ground. She let out a loud grunt as her face hit the floor on the side, and she gave a shuddered gasp. She could feel something quite heavy on her, and this force pushed her down harder, ensuring that she could not wriggle to get away. She could hear Blotz calling out for her. She could hear another thud and she assumed that he had been caught as well.

It took a while of wriggling around, but she did eventually manage to lift her head up to see who their captors were. She blinked slowly at the sight of someone round, floating, a spinner cap...

 _A Beanie Boy...?_

The Beanie Boy stared down at her, rubbing his thick finger under his chin, pondering his next move. Zibble remained in a stunned silence, her mouth hanging open. She couldn't think to speak. It was as though her voice had been blocked in her throat.

"Ah, I think I know these children." The Beanie Boy said to his comrades. "Aren't they the ones who often accompany that singer? The.. What was her name?"

"I believe Queen Rapsheeba." Said another Beanie Boy.

"Yes, _her!_ " The first Beanie Boy said. "They were just what we were looking for right?" Zibble and Blotz stared at the floating zoner in confusion and fear. "Perhaps we should take them now. I'm sure they will be quite happy."

One Beanie Boy rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure what's so important about these little brats." He eyed them suspiciously. "I wouldn't trust them in the bowl of my soup."

Zibble didn't know what that meant, and she didn't want to know.

The first Beanie Boy smacked this Beanie Boy across the cheek. "Get a hold of yourself!" The two glared at each other for a few moments before the second Beanie Boy appeared to concede, moving back away from who appeared to be the leader. "Let's get them to the Future Dome."

There was little that the two child zoners could do to stop this. They could feel themselves being lifted into the air, held on tightly by the Beanie Boys. They were ripped away from their previous destination and now they were being hauled back towards the open field. Then a slight turn and then they could see a dot floating in the air. As they kept getting closer and closer, they could see that it was a floating landmass. This must be Future Dome.

The burning adrenaline, their mind's sirens of danger going off constantly, the children were forced to approach this place. They had no clue what was going on or why the Beanie Boys were doing this. They only knew that, faster than they ever would have wanted, they were tossed into the ground in the middle of this giant cereal bowl, its contents filled with potential danger rather than a nice snack. They rolled across a few times before finally coming to a stop. They looked at their surroundings.

They were surrounded by zoners. Specifically, stick figure zoners. Zibble and Blotz immediately gasped, cringing away from the plain yet still terrifying-looking zoners all around them. They didn't dare speak, fearing that they would invoke an attack by mistake.

One zoner in particular approached them. Nothing different from the others. Just one of many faces. Yet they got the sense that he was their leader. When he arrived, he glared down at them coldly. His voice was just as icy. "So these are the ones that Snap had mentioned...?"

"What...?" Blotz managed to say.

Zibble couldn't stifle her gasp of shock. "Snap told you about us...?"

The stick figure zoner just smirked at them. "He's been generous enough to give us enough information about you two. If it weren't for him, we never would have found you."

"They were fleeing..." Commented a Beanie Boy.

"But they were caught." Corrected the stick figure. "And now that we have you two..."

Zibble and Blotz held onto each other. They squeezed tightly, refusing to let go. They stared up at the zoner before them, their minds racing, many questions pounding through their skulls. They had no idea what was going on or how things came to this. What the fuck happened? Why did Snap tell these idiots about them? What did these zoners want with them? These questions only became more frantic as the stick figure zoner leaned in towards them, his mouth curled up into a dark smile.

"I'm sure we'll get information on Rapsheeba's whereabouts..." He spoke, his voice strangely a mix of soothing and threatening. "We've milked Snap quite thoroughly for information. Now it's _your_ turn..."

This caused their hearts to stop beating. _Oh gawd no..._


	17. The City Of Secrets

Scrapbook City.

That's the name that he had forgotten about. This was the place that Biclops had mentioned to him before and warned him never to visit. And approaching the city slowly, it was...a bit hard at first to see what he was talking about.

On the surface, it didn't seem that different from any other city he's been to in ChalkZone. It was not as massive as ChalkZone City, but it was still a pretty populated area. He could already see it abuzz with life, zoners moving about on their daily businesses, going off to do their things, whatever else. It was enough to bring a smile to his face. It served as a reminder that things weren't always so bad here.

But he had to freeze as he continued to look around, starting to get something of an off feeling about this place. Despite its seemingly unassuming appearance, there was something that felt a little wrong. Or maybe not wrong, just confusing.

And then it hit him.

 _There were only stick figures._

Rudy felt his eyes widen at this realization. He clenched his teeth and he felt his leg muscles stiffening up. It became increasingly difficult for him to keep moving. He got more and more rigid as he went along, his heart pounding a little. After what they have all been through, was this really the best place for them to go?

He looked over and he stared at Rapsheeba. He could see the look of fear in her eyes. He could see how tense she was getting. He could practically feel her terror around her body like some kind of cloud or something. Her breathing gained a slightly shaky feel to it and she seemed to be struggling not to let herself become too overwhelmed by it.

The sight of this made Rudy feel so sad. She had been attacked by stick figures..and there they were, approaching a city of stick figures. Her mind must be going crazy right now, fighting against its internal fears just to stay sane. He didn't know how much longer Rapsheeba could handle this or how long she could go without going insane. She was a normally calm and collected zoner, but everyone has their limits. He hoped to gawd that her limit would not be reached any time soon.

They continued their way further towards the city. Despite their reservations against going, they knew they had to. This place might hold the key to answering what the heck was going on. And the fact that it was filled with stick figures should not be a deterrent; they had all interacted with stick figures before without much of a problem. It was only those stick figures from that group that were causing trouble. They had to remember that. They couldn't allow themselves to be so... pulled down into this that they forget that not all stick figure zoners were out to get them.

Rudy, Penny, and Rapsheeba soon found themselves at the very entrance of the stick figure city. They looked up at it, feeling a sense of marvel at how detailed it was. More so than they thought a stick figure city was like, no offense to the stick figures of course. It was just... _something_ they didn't expect and...

Rudy shook his head, trying to keep himself from letting his thoughts wander too much. He needed to stay focused, and fight against this bile-ridden fear rising up inside of him. He struggled to control his breathing, his chest inflating and deflating rapidly, his eyes narrowing into slits. It seemed like it was getting worse and he could tell the others were having a hard time as well.

They were incredibly lucky that no one was watching them right now. None of the stick figure zoners were around this particular area. If any of them saw them acting this way, it would set off all kinds of alarm bells and make their mission even harder. And who knew if these zoners were welcoming to strangers? The name 'Scrapbook City' didn't really sound ominous at first. But a city's name did not correlate with how the individuals inside felt about outsiders. They could only hope that they wouldn't be given too much trouble.

And so far, it did seem..strangely fine. They made their way along the streets lowly, sticking to the back ends of it. They didn't hear much of a commotion. They didn't hear anybody screaming or yelling. It was just..a happy and content city. Just with stick figures only instead of the wide variety that ChalkZone City had. It was quite the spectacle to see. An entire community of just...stick figure zoners. What a vastly different culture this would be. Pretty fascinating. If it weren't for the urgency, they would have enjoyed themselves more.

It was so conflicting being in this place. The more they looked around, the more they started to wonder just why this place had that uncomfortable feeling from before. This place seemed pretty great. They hadn't really interacted with anybody yet. But even then, it was plain as day for them to see just how well managed this place truly was. They had never been to a place quite like this before. It was tempting to just kick back and enjoy things.

They could hear some zoners singing a little choir not far away. They stood inside one of those outdoor things, holding pamphlets and just swaying from side to side, their voices singing a welcoming tune. A couple little children were running by, kicking a ball around, laughing and squealing. Other zoners were having a meeting inside of a restaurant, giggling and enjoying jokes with each other. And this was just the tip of the iceberg. It would be hard to explain exactly what this place was like and all that was going on. But in the end, it did make Rudy start to smile, as well as the others, and in that moment, they had forgotten about the danger feeling they had gotten when they came here.

He and the others eventually stepped out onto the main street. There was an immediate effect. Many of the zoners stopped what they were doing and turned to stare. But it was not a hateful stare or anything. It was more of a look of curiosity than anything. The stick figures did eventually turn their heads away and start to move on with their own business.

At least, most of them.

"Hello there, and welcome to Scrapbook City!" One of the stick figures cried out. Unlike most stick figures, he appeared to stand out a little more, thanks to a long red scarf and tall red hat that he wore. He had this importance feeling to him. It made the trio wonder if he were in charge of this place. "How are you all today? What brings you were? We don't get visitors often."

Rudy bit his lip for a moment. He did hate to tell this zoner that they were here on important business. He did look like he could use the company. He just seemed almost...lonely. But knowing that they had no choice, he swallowed hard and said, "We...have to ask you guys some questions and..."

"Oh right, sure!" The stick figure cut him off, waving his hand into the air. "But surely you can enjoy a little spot of tea or something?"

"We can't drink anything here." Penny said. "We're.."

"Not thirsty? Okay that's fine then. You could at least sit down with me for a while? Relax and try to enjoy yourself." The cheerful zoner folded his arms behind his back, straightening himself up. "As mayor of this city, I welcome you. I want everyone to feel welcome here." His smile spread along his face further than it seemed possible. It was almost eerie to see. "Well what are you waiting for? There's a nice little park nearby we can all sit at." He looked at them one at a time. "You all looked so tired. Care to rest?"

Rudy wasn't really sure what to think. He exchanged glances with Penny and Rapsheeba. This mayor stick figure seemed friendly enough. But he almost seemed...too friendly. Too cheery, and that was saying something. Zoners that he encountered often tended to be friendlier than most humans he runs into. But this guy? He just seems a tad... _off_.

Or maybe he was just overreacting. Maybe there was nothing wrong at all. Maybe he was just... Oh he didn't really know. He rubbed his head carefully as he fought against the ensuing headache. He was probably just still adjusting to everything that was going on. Maybe he should take the zoner's advice and rest a little. Besides, he and Penny had magic chalk. Not as much as they had forgotten to visit Biclops earlier. But it should be adequate enough. They were just asking for information and scoping things out. That was all. They weren't here for a fight.

They just had to keep it that way.

"Sure we...would love to relax just a bit." Rudy tried to sound firm yet gentle. He needed this zoner to understand that they could not just stand around and talk the whole time. They needed to move forward. Snap was still in danger and...

"Excellent!" The mayor zoner was quick to speak, not allowing Rudy to get any more words in edge wise. He found his hand being swiftly shaken by the zoner, his body wobbling with its movements. "Come, join me!"

"I..."

Rudy didn't have a chance to finish his sentence. Penny and Rapsheeba tried to speak, but the stick figure would not allow it. He had grabbed onto his and Penny's arms and just dragged them forward, forcing Rapsheeba to follow along in tow. They were pulled towards the nearest street, making a sharp turn and heading down towards the large gated park that was plain to see. They struggled to slow down, their feet tripping over one another. But they weren't able to do anything except just...take it, and they moved along towards their destination.

Rudy had to admit, this was a pretty nice park at least. Tall trees and large bushes and huge flowers towering over them. There was a multitude of color, not just green. It was like a rainbow decided to marry a forest and it had a baby. This was the result of that. The rolling hill appearance of the place seemed so calm and quaint. There were plenty of sparkling waterfalls, the water a very bright, almost unnatural blue, and the gold-colored pathways were easy to see. This was...a really nice place indeed.

The mayor zoner hurried them into the park a little more, as though he were excited for something. It made them wonder if he was really mayor at all or if he was just desperate for attention. It was really hard to say, but they didn't question it. Not like they had planned to stay here long anyway.

They were soon taken to a long, ebony-colored park bench. The mayor zoner released them and motioned for them to sit down, surprisingly not using words this time. Rudy, Penny, and Rapsheeba glanced at each other before looking back at the mayor zoner. Unsure of what else to do, they slowly sat down, resting on the park bench. The mayor zoner soon sat down with them, taking position in the exact middle.

" _So_... What brings you all here again?" The mayor said, folding his hands together and looking at them back and forth. He was still smiling, almost unnaturally so. "You need to talk to me about something you said?"

Penny nodded her head. "We don't want to intrude or anything. We apologize if we are overstepping our boundaries, sir..."

The mayor waved his hand. "Oh pee shaw! Call me Darling!" Rudy and his friends blinked in confusion. "Yeah I know, confusing name! I used to be called...something else." There was a bit of hesitation in his voice. He pressed on quickly. "But now it's Darling. Don't worry; I'm fine with it. Really!"

Rudy moved his head up and to the side a little. "Are you absolutely sure? I mean, we could..."

"It's fine!" Darling insisted. "Now..why were you afraid of offending me?" He put his hands to himself, smiling more broadly. "We're a happy bunch here. Nothing wrong with us. Nothing wrong here. You would be hard pressed to really offend us."

Now things were seriously getting into rather creepy territory. The way that this zoner was speaking and acting... Originally it could have come off as him being very friendly. Some zoners were indeed quite nice as already noticed before. But Darling... His behavior started to seem a little off kilter. He seemed a little too direct, a little too obvious. Something about the way he spoke and the way he carried himself... It did not seem exactly the most..normal thing.

But they didn't want him to think that they were onto him or thought he was off or weird or anything. They didn't want to give him reason to want to arrest them or whatever else that he might do. They couldn't afford to do that. They had to go along with this and pretend like it was all fine and dandy. They had to relax and take this. It was all going to be fine in the end. Everything was going to be all right. After all, they had magic chalk at their disposal.

Rudy was the one who managed to start speaking. Not right away; he had to clear his throat and kind of force himself to talk. But in the end, he was able to get himself to articulate what his next statement was going to be. "Are you by any chance aware of a group of..." He had to bite his tongue to force himself to continue. "...stick figures..." He noticed the way Darling's head tilted to the side. "..who had attacked our city?"

Darling blinked a few times, looking a bit confused. "What...city..?"

"ChalkZone City." Rapsheeba spoke up.

Darling stared at them blankly. He seemed to have some trouble registering what they said in his mind. He then turned his head to the side, staring out towards the nearby tree. He didn't seem to be much less friendly, but he did seem a little more stiffened than usual. It was hard to say if the question struck him the wrong way or if he was just confused in general. Either way would be understandable.

After a while of silence, Darling said, "You're from.. _that_ city?"

Rudy nodded his head rigidly. A bit of tension swelled up inside of him. He tried his best to remain calm. "Yes we are. Well, she is." He motioned to Rapsheeba. "But we..."

Darling turned his head over. He was still smiling. But there was a sort of glint in his eyes. He didn't speak still. He just continued to remain quiet and watching them with an eerily silent expression. It got to the point where they couldn't take it any longer. Penny was the one who eventually responded to this.

"Is there a problem, Darling? You seem a little... tense."

Darling shook his head slowly, his head turning left and right. "Eh... No, not really. I am just...confused. No one's ever visited from there before. You would think that zoners from there think they're better than us." That was the first time that this zoner expressed anything close to anger. But even then, it was so faint, it was hardly noticeable. "I am...quite honored that you decided to break that nasty trend and visit. Maybe you could convince those zoners that it's not so bad here? Perhaps?"

Penny rubbed the back of her head. "I'm not sure what we can promise. But.." She held up her hand in gesture. "Do you know what we can ask some questions about this group of zoners who attacked? You have not really addressed that and..."

"What? Do you think I had something to do with it?" Darling put his hand to his chest, staring at Penny with one eyebrow cocked upwards, yet still smiling. "I assure you, we had nothing to do with that nasty little spectacle. I do apologize for whatever misfortune was brought upon you."

"We do appreciate the sentiment." Rapsheeba leaned in a little closer, her eyes staring at the zoner intently. "But do you think you could help us?"

"Yeah, we could really use the help." Rudy said. His heart stung as another thought came to him. "And our friend was captured by them as well."

"Oh I'm so sorry." Darling said.

"Will you be able to help us?" Penny asked, her voice tinged with emotion. "Please, we need help. We need someone to..." Her voice trailed off upon seeing Darling's hand raise up.

"Say no more. I'll be glad to offer some help." Darling said. The trio smiled at this, although there was still some caution to be had. They still had to be careful, just in case. They could not get too cocky with this, knowing that they were in an unknown city. "Why don't you come with me again? I do have something that might be helpful."

"We would, but first..." Rudy said quickly before Darling could move. "Do you know of any stick figures who have gone...rogue?"

Darling flinched softly. He looked away, his head facing towards the ground. "..I can think of something. But no guarantees."

"And what is it...?"

Darling leaned his head back, his eyes staring upwards. "It's...hard to explain. But let's just say there's some...rather dark things that come when you're associated with the stick figure kin."

Rudy, Penny, and Rapsheeba exchanged nervous glances at this. Just what the heck was this zoner talking about...?

sss

It did feel rather strange walking into this place. None of them knew what to expect. None of them had any idea how to feel about this. They tried to remain silent as they were being guided towards the tall building that they recognized as the mayor's outpost. They couldn't let themselves get too caught up in their emotions. It was all going to work out just fine in the end. They just... _had_ to remain focused on what was in front of them.

But trying to remain completely calm was going to still be a challenge. Darling's behavior was still as off putting as ever, even if he was mostly friendly. Even though he seemed a little off at first, that faded away quickly, and he was back to being as uplifting as ever. So happy, so willing to help them out... But it was hard to tell just how genuine this all was.

Penny gritted her teeth slightly as she pushed herself forward. She kept her narrowed eyes on Darling as he led them to his building for further discussions. She guessed that he didn't feel the park was private enough. Perhaps he thought that they wanted some more casual talking there, and she could see that point being valid. Really, a park was not exactly the best place to talk about something like this. What if someone were to overhear it and get the wrong idea? Even just talking to the mayor was tense. There was a good chance that he was not going to like this at all.

Penny shook her head slowly. The only way to know for sure how trustworthy this guy was or not was to just...give him a chance. It wasn't like he was armed or anything. And she and Rudy did have magic chalk. So if something were to happen, they would be prepared and they would be able to ensure that he could not do anything to them.

But what if he tried something with Rapsheeba? Depending on how all of this goes, what is revealed, there is a chance that Rapsheeba might turn out to be someone on their wanted list, or someone who rubs them the wrong way. Penny really had no idea just how many stick figures were a part of this radical group. Any one of them might be writing something against them. They needed to remain on their toes.

She hoped that they would be able to do this and fast. She had no idea just how long Snap really had. She did feel guilty that they didn't go after him first. _But_...how would they have known where to go? For all she knew, they would have wasted far more time scouring the land looking for him with no idea where to go, than just asking these zoners for any information. Even if it took a while, it couldn't possibly take quite as long. Any information Darling was willing to tell them brought them a step closer to finding out where Snap was being held, and it brought them a step closer to seeking out justice for Rapsheeba.

Speaking of her, Penny looked over at the singer zoner, watching as she hung back a little, her hands rubbing together slowly. Penny's expression softened up slightly, her mind wandering through several thoughts. She wondered if it had been a good idea to bring her along or not. Should they have made her stay behind?

No, she would have followed anyway. She was pretty determined. Penny understood why. The zoner did feel guilty about Snap's capture, even if she was not directly responsible. Rapsheeba still felt obliged to help, to try to aid them in finding Snap. Although Penny still felt uncertain about this, both she and Rudy did feel that having her around was beneficial.

"Go on inside." Darling's voice sliced through the air, bringing Penny out of her thoughts. "My building is the most private place here in Scrapbook City. I'm sure you will agree."

The trio remained silent as they walked through the open door. They moved in a few feet further, looking around at the room they were in. There was an immediate sense of awe and wonder as they came inside.

The building was sort of a pentagon shape, or something close to it. It was more like a pentagon with a point at the top. It stretched upwards, forming a giant cylinder-like shape, jetting up into the air. They pulled their heads back and stared at the ceiling, which had some kind of eye-like mark on it, red with gold glitter. It was an almost 'all seeing eye thing' which did give them some creepy vibes. But the rest of the place didn't really carry this sense.

They could see a table up ahead made of some nice red-brown coloring with darker markings. They could see a few potted plants here or there, some with tall ferns and others giant flowers. They could see a few pictures hanging on the walls. The coloring was a nice orangey type, subdued and not very overpowering, along with pale yellow stripings in a few locations that seemed to somehow blend in.

In fact, the only really official thing they could see was that eye on the ceiling. Perhaps that was the city's symbol? They hadn't seen it anywhere else, so it would make sense to mark the most important building with this. That didn't diminish its creepiness, but it did help them understand it a little better.

Following the mayor zoner's gesture, they all went over to have a seat in the chairs, which were lined up in front of the desk. There was more than enough. About ten chairs. Why he would need so many, who knew? But they weren't about to question it.

As they sat down one by one in their respective seats, Darling walked over in a wide, broad circle towards his desk. He took position behind it, right in where it curved at. His hands gripped onto the desk's curve tightly as he pulled himself in to sit down. His behind lowered down into the chair itself. He settled in it, adjusting himself from side to side, and then pulled forward so that his thin stomach pushed up against the curve. He rested his arms against the table, his fingers interlocking. He leaned in forward, stared at them intently, and he finally spoke.

"So...what is this you said about stick figures attacking? And just what happened with your friend?" Darling's voice was not accusatory. But whatever tone that it was, hard to say if they liked it or not. "Please elaborate."

There was a bit of silence at first. Penny glanced over at Rudy and Rapsheeba. Now came the tough part. How were they going to tell this zoner about what happened without making it seem like they though all stick figures were bad? And how would they go about this without making it seem like they were accusing him? That certainly wasn't what they intended to do. The last thing they wanted was to create even more enemies.

Penny took in a deep, long breath. Someone had to start, so she figured why not. She did need to clear her mind a little longer. But once she felt she had something she wanted to say, she began to speak.

"We do apologize if we rubbed you the wrong way. We aren't trying to look for trouble." Penny said, keeping her voice nice and low and calm. She watched the zoner before her carefully, looking for any sign of trouble from his expressions. He seemed to be mostly calm at this point, but that might change at any time. She continued, "But you see, what happened is that a little while back, our friend here, Rapsheeba.."

Penny motioned to the singer zoner. Then she pressed on.

"She was attacked by a group of zoners who seemed pretty upset with her. All the zoners in the group were stick figure zoners." She raised her hand up in gesture. "We do believe that they have something against creators and this was their primary reason for targeting Rapsheeba."

"And they also took Snap." Rudy interjected. "An eye witness we found claims that he had seen him going with the stick figure zoners 'willingly', but we believe that he was forced to leave."

"Oh? And why do you think that?" Asked Darling. "Any particular reason?"

Rudy nodded slowly. "If these were the same stick figures that attacked Rapsheeba, there was no way that he would go willingly with them." He shook his head from side to side, his eyes closed. He reopened his eyes and stared intently at Darling. "I can assure you that this had been a form of attack."

"I see." Darling tapped his finger against his chin thoughtfully. His eyes furrowed deeply, his gaze facing downward for a moment. He slowly turned his head to the side, giving Rudy an upwards stare. "And why exactly are you telling me this...?"

"We were hoping that you could help us. We understand if this sort of thing rubs you the wrong way. But we need to find more information on these stick figure zoners. Who they are, what their goal is, where they might be..." Penny started to say.

Darling cut her off. "Why not ask around your own town instead of bringing us into it?"

Penny felt her heart tighten up for a moment. Now it seemed like they were getting into iffy territory. It was clear that Darling did not appreciate what she was implying. She licked her lips slowly and swallowed. But despite her nervousness, she still pressed on. They needed to ask this anyway. Might as well get it done and over with now. "Well it's a little hard for us to ask on our own. Being stick figures, they don't stand out easily for us. They're all so similar to each other. We were hoping that this city, namely you, who are probably more in tune with this sort of thing, could help us figure out the names and whereabouts of these zoners."

Darling narrowed his eyes slowly at this statement. Penny, Rapsheeba, and Rudy cringed back a little, expecting the zoner to full on yell at them. When it didn't come, they did not relax. If anything, that just made the waiting time even worse.

Penny did feel bad about saying such a thing. She didn't want to imply that 'all stick figures were the same' or anything like that. She had hoped that her sentences would help quell the mayor a little. But perhaps she had chosen wrong. Perhaps she should have tried something else. Maybe she should have...

Darling's voice stopped her thoughts in their track. "I am... _well aware_ of you..complex zoners having a hard time with us stick figures. It's...not really much of a surprise." Darling turned his head to the side, staying like this for several long seconds. He continued to speak with his head turned like this. "And it is true that not all of us stick figures have a very positive view on creators. It's quite complicated, really."

"Would you...be able to tell us a little?" Rapsheeba's hesitant voice asked, her teeth pressing against her lip. "If it's a too sensitive of a topic for you, we can..."

Darling raised his hand up, silencing her. "It's all right. I don't really mind telling you." He looked at them all one by one, his tone taking on an even more serious level. "I am aware of this group that you speak of." Everyone widened their eyes at this. "I hadn't made it obvious at the time as I wanted to hear from your own words and... Yeah, I do believe I know this group."

"What's their group's name? What do they call themselves?" Penny asked hesitantly.

"They have named themselves Razorskulls." Darling replied solemnly.

"The Razorskulls...?" Whispered Rudy. His eyes widened at that word, his eyes becoming downcast as he let it settle into his mind. "That sounds..."

"Really _ominous_." Penny finished for him."

"And it should." Growled Darling. "They have been causing such a ruckus for us in the past. Mostly holding up protests that no one cared about. They don't seem to like that very much. But honestly that's their fault." He shook his head from side to side. "Not many are that interested in what they want."

"So just what are they, anyway?" Penny asked, her hand held up. "What kind of trouble have they been causing?"

Darling turned his head to the side, his gaze facing nothingness. "I have not been able to gather as much information about them as I would have liked. But based on what I have been able to gather from sources, it would seem that they want to go into the Real World, which is why they were so focused on you two. It's not that they want you dead; oh no, they want you very much alive...for now."

Penny and the others widened their eyes in shock at this. Going into the Real World...? That was...madness... The Real World was dangerous for zoners. And any zoner who goes out there could theoretically gain god-like control over a part of ChalkZone. Make their own zoners and whatever else terrible things that come to mind. The possibilities were endless. The thought of this was bone chilling.

And what if a human were to capture them? It wouldn't really be out of the question that someone would be attracted to the 'unique properties of the chalk creatures' and want to study them, learn from them, and possibly end up learning about ChalkZone. All this swirled around their heads, causing a headache to spread throughout. Just what were they going to do about this? How were they going to handle such a _horrible_ situation? What if they couldn't save the zoners in time? What if the zoners won't even let them get to them? _What if..._

"I see you all recognize how serious this is." Darling folded his arms behind his back, his body hunched forward. "I know this seems...dreadful... But remember, they actually need a creator to into that place. And you two are right here. It seems they haven't caught you yet." Darling offered a smile. "You have at least that to be grateful for."

Rudy nodded his head slowly. But his frown did not disappear. "But still..."

"Hmm?"

"What if they keep trying anyway? Even without a creator, what if they still tried to get into the Real World?"

"Then they will fail."

"What if they succeed?"

"How so?"

"Yeah, Rudy..." Rapsheeba asked, her voice squeaking slightly. "Why do you think it will be possible to get into the Real World without a creator's help?"

Penny was curious as well. She had no clue what Rudy was implying. She just stared at the boy, waiting for him to speak.

Rudy closed his eyes. "I did not say that I think it will be possible. But if there's one thing I know about ChalkZone..." Rudy looked back at them, his eyes narrowing further into slits, his teeth becoming gritted. "It's that there's a slight chance something can be circumvented." He looked away. "And remember what Biclops said?" He gave Penny and Rapsheeba a sideways glance. "The magic chalk used to travel to the Real World on its own."

Penny and the others were silent at this. They exchanged glances with one another, taking in slow, deep breaths, a chilling realization crawling up their spines.

Rudy spoke that realization out loud. "If the magic chalk can do this..." He gave a slight pause for drama. Then he said, "Who's to say that something like zoners finding their way into the Real World could not happen...?"

An uneasy silence fell upon the room. Not even the mayor had anything to say to this. The air around them got stiff and icy and it felt like they were moving through a solid pillar. It became increasingly difficult to speak and they had to strain to even catch their own breaths. Things stayed this way for a good several long minutes, with no end in sight.

Penny tried to make sense of this. She tried to think of just how this could be possible. She didn't want to believe that any zoner stood a chance at getting out into the Real World. She wanted to believe that there was a tight barrier between the two worlds. But she also had to take Rudy's words into consideration. There was a chance that something could still happen. The magic chalk could get through. What if a zoner could, too? Maybe even through riding the same 'wavelength' as the magic chalk.

She shook the thought out of her head. As much as she would love to keep thinking about this, they did not exactly have a lot of time on their hands for this. They needed to keep moving forward. They needed to keep thinking on just what the heck they were going to do with this knowledge. If these zoners wanted to go into the Real World, just what would be the purpose? And how could they set about stopping them?

"Why...do they want to go into the Real World specifically?" Rapsheeba asked cautiously. Darling stared at her. "I mean, do they want to...use the chalkboard somehow? Do they want..."

"They want to get back at their creators I believe." Darling answered.

" _What..?!_ " The others cried in unison.

Darling said, "Don't quote me on that. I might be a little incorrect. But yes, far as I know, they want to get back at someone at least for how they've been treated." Darling motioned a little with his hands, the palm facing up. "A good number of stick figures here feel that way. It's..ingrained into our history." He straightened himself up, letting out a sigh. "But only a small percentage of us stick figures had gone with them. Most of us see it as a waste of time."

Penny took a step forward. She felt a little bold to ask this, but she had to bring it up. "You mentioned something about being 'ingrained in your history'. What did you mean by that, exactly?" She tilted her head to the side.

At this, Darling seemed to hesitate. He tried to answer, but something was stopping him. He was looking left and right, his teeth slightly bared. His mind's gears were clearly turning about as he struggled with an answer. But all he could manage was a little, "That is not important right now. We..."

"Not important? Look, if this relates to what's going on..." Rudy straightened himself up, getting out of his hair as Penny and Rapsheeba had earlier. "We're not leaving until we get some answers."

"Return to your seats and please..." Darling interrupted, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Don't worry about that for now. Let's focus on helping your friend out. I can tell you more about this group if you wish. I can't give names but..."

"Why can't you?" Penny inquired.

"..Because they changed their names." Darling answered in a lowered tone of voice. "They do not have the same names as they did before. It's a common thing around here. Things change all the time." Darling looked towards something, though what specifically, it was hard to say. "It's something that we've gotten used to around here." He soon looked back at them. "But as I said, I can help you out in other ways if you let me. I wouldn't mind giving you whatever other information that I can." They formed a fist with their one hand, slamming it into the palm of his other. "I wouldn't mind seeing some of those zoners pay for _ruining_ our reputation."

Penny raised an eyebrow at this. "But how can you help us if you can't even tell us their names and looks aren't going to help."

"I have my ways." Darling said with a smile spreading across his face. "If you don't mind me showing you..."

The trio glanced at one another. Did they really have much of a choice? This zoner might be the only one who can help them. Even if he seemed a little off, that didn't really mean that he couldn't be trusted. They should give him a shot; the only reason he seemed off kilter was because of how tense they had gotten lately. For good reason, yes. But it might prove to be their downfall if they were not careful.

So it was agreed. They would follow Darling to wherever he wants to take them and try to learn more about this group. Perhaps even get help with locating them, however the heck this zoner planned on doing that. And then they...

Penny gave pause when she looked over at the desk for a moment. She could hear Rudy and Rapsheeba trying to talk to her, trying to understand what she was doing. She didn't say anything to them, though. She kept her focus on the desk. There was something a little off about it. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was some kind of name tag. Typical for a mayor's office, right?

But upon closer inspection, she noticed something different about it. Something that took her even longer to register in her mind.

The name was not Darling.

It was Raindrop.

 _What the fuck was..._

"Is there something wrong, miss?" Darling's voice spoke up from in front of her. Penny lifted her head up to stare at the zoner before her. She could see his expression, his eyebrow raised up. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

" _I-I._.." Penny paused for a moment, struggling to think of what to say. She could feel many thoughts going through her. She could feel her body trembling, her breathing quickening. She fought against this the best that she could, but it was so difficult to do. What in the world was she to think about this? She would have dismissed it as the previous mayor, but she saw no name tag for Darling. So what was...

"Penny?" Rudy placed a hand on Penny's shoulder, gently squeezing it. "Are you all right?"

Penny shook her head, snapping herself back to reality. She looked over at Rudy, seeing how he was looking at her. She took in a few deep breaths, trying to get herself to settle down. She then turned and looked over at Rapsheeba, and then Darling, noting their confusion. She did feel a pang of guilt for worrying them. She owed it to them to explain what was going through her mind. Although a part of her was still a little worried, she pressed on and said, "Excuse me, but... why is the name tag reading Raindrop instead of..."

Penny froze when she saw the look in Darling's eyes. She took a step back, nearly falling back into her chair.

"Darling...?" Penny whispered. "Did I...?"

Darling leaned in towards her, his eyes narrowing even further. He remained like this for a while, the silence filling the air with such an ugly thickness. Penny found it hard to breathe. She wanted to turn to her friends for help, but even that seemed impossible. All Penny could do was just stare at Darling, her mind racing, wondering just what she had done to upset him. Was he really upset that she had said the name 'Raindrop'? _But...why would he..._

Was there a reason that she was missing?

Darling opened his mouth and let out a low, growling hiss. Soon words formed out, filled with a sudden spillage of venom that none of them were expecting. It just came out of the blue and sent a chill up their spines. "You have just made a very big, _costly mistake_..."

sss

"Take them to the holding chamber!"

"Yeah and make sure they don't get away!"

Rudy tried to struggle against the zoner's grasp. He twisted himself from side to side, attempting to get one of his arms freed. If he could only just grab onto his magic chalk, he could draw them something and get out of this place. But his arms were being held at his sides, each one grabbed tightly by a stick figure zoner. He continued to struggle for a few moments before releasing a low hiss and growling, his teeth clenched. He turned his head to stare over at the others with him.

He could see Penny was in a similar position. She had an even rougher time for some reason, though he could not place the exact reasoning for this. Perhaps it was because those stick figures were being rougher with her, or that they were bigger and stronger. And then behind Penny, there was Rapsheeba, who was being carried in a stick figure's arm. She was pounding her fist against the stick figure, but they didn't seem all that fazed by this.

Despite their best efforts, the three found themselves being dragged in further down the hallway. They didn't know exactly where they were being taken at. These tunnels, which looked like they had been dug out and were lined up with small lights, twisted forward through the ground. There didn't seem like there was any sort of end in sight. It just went on forever, like they were being dragged into some sort of black void.

No longer able to keep fighting back, Rudy's body started to go limp. Or at least, his legs did. He could feel them being dragged out against the ground. The stick figure zoners didn't seem to care. They continued to drag him as is, causing his knees to get pretty badly scraped. This was enough to 'encourage' Rudy to try harder to actually walk.

He seethed through his clenched teeth. He couldn't believe what had been happening. He couldn't believe that he and the others were being treated like this. He couldn't understand the reasoning behind Darling's reaction. Then again, should he _really_ be surprised? Darling hadn't exactly had the best aura or attitude. He acted like he wanted to help them, but there was..something about him that always felt off. It was like he was hiding something else. It would seem that his hunch was correct.

Rudy didn't know much of how this had happened, other than the zoner's attitude had changed the moment that any of them had brought up the word 'Raindrop'. He didn't get it. Was this zoner upset with Raindrop? Was it simply a word that he did not like? Rudy had tried to ask what was wrong, but Darling would only tell them 'you should know, creator', as if Rudy and Penny knew what they were doing.

Rudy growled in frustration. But he knew that there wasn't much he could do right now. At least Darling didn't seem to know that he and Penny had magic chalk with them. So far, none of these prison guards had attempted to grab their chalk. So as soon as they got in their holding chamber, they could draw their way out. In the meantime, he kept on struggling, trying to make it look convincing that he had no other way out.

The prison guards weren't exactly gentle with them. They pulled and yanked hard, uncaring if they scraped them or banged them against the wall. They gave them no time to rest, no time to do anything. Even just trying to keep up with them was difficult. Their feet would slip constantly, hitting against grooves and raised rocks, and they could feel their legs twisting one way and another. Horrible pain shot through their limbs a few times, making them cry out. And all the while, the prison guards just continued to drag them like it was no big deal.

Rudy could feel his blood boiling at how roughly he and Penny were being handled. Rapsheeba did not have it much better, with how she was being rubbed against the wall like that. He shouted a few times at the stick figure zoners, demanding that they stop hurting his friends. His words fell on deaf ears, however. The zoners paid little attention to him and his friends. Instead, they opted to drag them even harder. Rudy wouldn't be surprised if they were enjoying this a little too much.

At least they didn't have to endure this for much longer. Up ahead, they could see what appeared to be some sort of cage. Thickly barred and quite tall. It looked big enough to hold all three of them, if not a little too big for that. Despite being closer and closer, however, it did still seem like it took a while before they reached their destination. The minutes dragged on and everything seemed to swirl around into a vortex almost, only to be jolted out of it when they could feel themselves being thrown in.

Rudy grunted as his shoulder banged up against the hard, unforgiving floor. He gritted his teeth and seethed, rubbing his head. He looked over just in time to see Penny being thrown in. He widened his eyes and he tried to get out of the way. He wasn't able to stop himself from being unintentionally body slammed by Penny, her body weight crushing up against him. Rapsheeba was the last one tossed in. She was thankfully not as heavy, but feeling her landing on top of both of them after what just happened still caused them to grunt in pain.

The door was slammed behind them. The reverberation could be felt straight through their bones. They looked over just in time to see the door being locked, the loud clicking sound ringing in their ears. They climbed up to their feet and tried to rush at the door, but by the time they got there, it was too late. They had been locked up inside this stupid contraption.

"You will remain in here until the mayor has decided what should be done with you lot." One of the guards said.

"But if I were _you_..." Sneered one of the other guards. "...I would be _worried_. Not many get off with an easy punishment for what you lot did."

Rudy gritted his teeth tightly. He formed fists with his hands. He could feel a surge of energy going through his body, trembling. Unable to stop himself, he rushed forward and began to bang against the bars. He ignored the pain that this caused him as he kept striking, adrenaline powering each blow. "Let us out of here! We didn't do anything wrong!"

"We were just asking questions! We had made that clear!" Penny moved in behind him, though she did not attempt to bang on the bars like he did. "Please, you have to...!"

"We don't have to do anything..." Growled a third guard. "You shouldn't be pretending that you don't know what you did." He pointed his long, bony finger at them. "You were the ones who had tried to lay a curse on Mayor Darling!"

" _What?!_ " Spluttered Rapsheeba. "W-We weren't trying to..."

"Silence, you brat!" Shouted the third guard. He rammed his fist against the cage, causing it to shake badly. This was enough to make Rapsheeba jump and Rudy and Penny to move away from the cage's front a little. The third guard huffed and puffed before he seemed to finally settle down a little. "Look, we don't like this anymore than you do... But you have to understand the severity of what you have done."

"That is correct. We have strict rules here. And you three have broken the biggest one." Another guard stated.

The first guard who had spoken earlier shut their eyes. "We just hope the damage can be reversed before it's too late."

Rudy could feel his mind spinning in circles, his teeth clenching even harder to the point of nearly breaking his own teeth. He struggled to keep himself under control. He struggled to keep his racing heart at bay. He struggled against the dizzying sensations and the way everything seemed to be on an unstable plate. He tried to keep his voice from rising up, from starting even more trouble.

But he just couldn't get it. He could not understand any of this. What the fuck did these zoners have to fear from them? What did they do wrong? How in the fuck did they 'curse' Mayor Darling? He couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard that he tried. He could feel his head aching more and more, as though it was about to burst open. He seethed as his shut his eyes, gripping his head with his hands. He shook his head from side to side slowly and then, unable to take it any longer, he spilled his emotions forth.

"How in the world can we understand what we did if we don't know what we did?! We only asked your mayor for help! It had all been running smoothly until he decided to turn against us for no fucking reason! We have no clue what we did wrong and none of you idiots are telling us anything!" He raised his arms into the air swiftly, as though trying to strike something up there. "What kind of place are you running here, anyway?! How is this a way to lead your city?! When you don't even tell them what they did wrong...!"

Rudy didn't get a chance to continue. One of the stick figure zoners struck him with a long pole that they had been carrying. The tip of it was pressed up against the space between his chest and stomach. As it hit, he could feel his lung's air being forced out as he gasped painfully. He quickly lost his footing and he fell into the ground with a loud thud.

"Rudy!" Penny shouted as she and Rapsheeba rushed over to him. They grabbed onto his arms and pulled him up, helping him get back onto his feet. "Are you okay?!"

Rudy grumbled softly as he weakly attempted to stand up. He felt his feet slipping a little as he struggled for air. He opened his mouth as wide as he could as he tried to get in another breath. He shook his head and he glared up at the zoner who struck him. He tried to speak, but his voice was caught on air.

Penny, however, was more than capable of speaking for him. "What the hell did you do _that_ for?!"

The zoner who held the pole lowered it, their eyes narrowing dangerously. "Take that as a warning... We will not tolerate such behavior again."

"But..." Penny stammered. She was clearly trying to control herself. "You still haven't told us what you... I mean... We don't know what we did wrong and..."

"The hell you don't..." Hissed one of the guards. "You know full well what happens when you speak the _Forbidden Words!_ "

Penny blinked her eyes slowly. "The last thing I had said was Rai..."

"That is enough!" Shouted the guard, her voice low and almost whispery. She didn't strike Penny like Rudy and the others thought. But she looked very damn well close to it. She was struggling to control her breathing, her teeth bared tightly, her eyes practically glowing. She stayed like this for several moments before she said, "Anyway, it's time for us to take our leave. Enjoy your stay here..."

"Wait, we..." Rudy managed to say. But it was too late. The zoners had already started to leave, making their way down the hallway. In the distance, they could hear the footsteps get more and more faint. Eventually they could hear nothing at all and that's when it dawned on him. They were now alone in this cell with no idea on just what happened or how.

One distinct question remained on their minds. They glanced at each other as they seemed to try to ask this wordlessly. Their facial expressions carried different answers, but none of them bore a real solution. None of them could make sense of this. None of them could understand just...

Why were these zoners so uptight about the word 'Raindrop'...?

sss

Darling struggled to catch his breath. He inhaled and exhaled rapidly, his hand over his chest, his teeth clenched tightly. He could feel his mind spinning around in circles, showing no signs of slowing down. His eyes kept staring at a spot on the ground as he struggled to cope with this. He felt everything just wobbling and his heart kept beating faster and faster. He looked around, expecting everything to just fall apart right then and there. Even when this didn't happen, that didn't stop him from feeling such fear and terror crawling up through his body.

He didn't know why this had to happen. He didn't know what motives those three had. Did they not say that they only came for questioning? Then why did... He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. It did not matter anymore anyway. They wouldn't be able to harm him again. Not while they were locked away, sealed up tightly in their holding chamber. He had yet to figure out what he wanted to do with them. He would figure it out in time. But for now, he just...wanted to rest.

Today had turned out to be...quite _eventful_. He never thought this would happen. He had tried to be as friendly and happy as he could. But as soon as he had seen those three in his city, three non-stick figures, in fact two of them being human, creators, he just... it was so hard to control himself. A part of him had a feeling that this was some sort of bad omen coming to get him. He wanted to think that he was just overreacting. But then..

Darling sucked in a sharp breath, feeling a bit of pain as he did so. He hardly paid attention to this however as he tried to settle down his mind. He was not going to be able to lead this town if he let himself go a little too nuts. And the threats were removed anyway. Perhaps by doing so, he would have delayed that damn curse from spreading. Perhaps everything would turn out all right in the end and he should just...

 _But...gah_... What should he do now? What was the right path to take? He couldn't figure it out any longer. He really had no clue what the right directions were. Everything just seemed so landlocked, so gripping, making him tremble and seethe. His blood kept turning colder and colder to the point where it had become a sheet of ice. He leaned his head back and he stared up at the ceiling. Was this the sort of fate that his creator had intended for him...?

No, this couldn't be had to be something more to all of this. Some sort of answer that he and the other citizens of Scrapbook City just were not seeing. He had imprisoned so many zoners for breaking this rule. The punishments were always harsh, and for good reason. There had been certain... _events_ happening here. He wondered if ChalkZone City was less prone to this. That would explain why Rapsheeba seemed to not know.

But why wouldn't Rudy and Penny realize what they had done? Surely they knew... After all, they were from the Real World. They would have witnessed this, maybe even participate in this horrible event. This 'past time' that creators seem to partake in. And yet they acted as if they had no clue, acted like they were so ignorant of the situation. Darling just...could not understand any of it. The logic just would not react his mind, and he found himself breaking his own brain just looking for a solution.

Then he realized...perhaps this is the time to try to change that. Perhaps he could look for the answer, to understand, and perhaps change things around here. Perhaps he had been a little too hasty to lock them up. He was just so used to doing that, and he was so fearful for his own life... What if he were to wake up the next morning, his name snapped to the side and limbs missing?

Just like the others...

But now he had a chance to turn this around. Now he and this city had their hands on a couple of creators. Young ones at that. And harmless at that; little did they know, he had the guards take their magic chalk without them realizing it. He wouldn't be surprised if the children were attempting to escape, frantically looking for the chalk that was not there anymore.

This would make it all the more easier to set things up to interrogate them. They would not be able to run away, nor could they dodge any questions. They would be forced to face the consequences that they themselves had caused, and there was no getting around it. The realization made him smile a bit, and he almost started to laugh, excitement shooting through his body. Finally, at long last, they had a chance to get the answers that they had been seeking for so long. Finally, they would discover the truth behind the creator's sick little game.

 _The game that involved them dropping dead or dying stick figures into their world..._

He took in another shuddering breath as hot tears began to form. He had never known any of those stick figures. There was never any time. But he had seen the way that they had looked. He had seen their heads almost always lopped to the side, snapped. He had seen how some had body parts missing, blood dripping from them. He had often heard them crying out briefly before expiring, blood oozing from their mouths. It had always been so hard to watch. The fact that they seemed coupled with certain words made it all the more _horrifying..._

Well no more. They would find the answers now. They would interrogate those humans until they solved this horrific puzzle. And none of this would ever happen again. He would see to that.


	18. Sparkling

"Let us go, you creeps!"

"If you don't release us, we'll...we'll... _Aaaah!_ "

" _Zibble, no!_ "

The stick figure responsible for the attack just sneered at them, a low dark chuckle echoing throughout his body. He looked obviously happy about what he was doing, showing absolutely no sign of remorse. It was absolutely infuriating and made the two children-like zoners sick to their stomachs. "Do you really want to keep this up? Do you know how long we're willing to do this for?" The stick figure raised his hand in gesture. "You're just better off telling us what we want to know. Your suffering is on _you_."

Blotz growled at this. He didn't want to cave into the zoner's desires. He didn't want to seem weak in front of him. He was not going to allow him to get to him so easily. He just continued on struggling defiantly, unwilling to back down, unwilling to give up. There just had to be a way out of this. There just had to...

"I see you're still not willing to cooperate. Fair enough." The stick figure just merely shrugged. "I suppose we will have to turn it up a notch."

One of the stick figures looked relatively alarmed by this. "Are you sure that's a good idea...?"

Another nodded her head. "We do need to.."

The lead stick figure snarled at them, whirling to face them with his hands clenched tightly into fights. "Are you all chickening out?! What do you think they're going to do to you? They're just children!" He gave the two kids a dirty sideways glance. "And you know the orders." As he stared intently at Zibble and Blotz, his smile grew broader. He released a small chuckle. "We get what we can out of these two. Then we use it to help us find Rapsheeba."

"That's..if they will talk, sir." The same female stick figure said. She had a lot of hesitation in her voice, cracking a little. It was as though she were afraid to piss off this particular stick figure. "Please, Paladin, we just can't..."

She let out a gasp, unable to complete her sentence, when Paladin grabbed onto her throat and hoisted her off the ground. Paladin was apparently tightening his grip on her, noted by how she was clawing at his wrists and trying to free herself, her mouth open and gasping. The male stick figure didn't show her any sympathy.

"Excuse me, Terra..." He said coolly. "Are you...questioning me? You know what happens when you do that..." Terra didn't answer; she just continued to squirm and kick her feet around, her face starting to lose some of its color. Paladin's smirk just spread further. "Oh don't look at me that way. You know that you brought this on yourself..."

"That's _enough!_ "

Paladin froze as he looked over to see two other stick figures walking in. Blotz narrowed his eyes as he stared at them. They didn't look particularly familiar, but apparently these two held high importance in these stick figures. They were all frozen in shock and immediately lowered themselves, as though fearful of retaliation.

"J-Jax.. J-Jonathan..." Paladin spoke again. He had lost a lot of his firepower in his voice as the two zoners approached him. He gave a weak smile and a pathetic chuckle as he took a few steps back. His grip on Terra weakened to the point that he ended up releasing her. He raised his hands up and started to move back even faster. "I-I-It wasn't what it seems. I-I was just..."

"You were..what...?" Jonathan said. "We saw exactly what you were doing."

Jax nodded his head slowly. "Indeed. We aren't blind. We even heard her pleas."

"I-I-I...please.. I-I wasn't.." Paladin began to look around at the others, as though looking for support. "C-Come on, you guys. Y-You know I wasn't.." But nobody would stand up for him. Everyone just looked at him with either a look of disappointment or uncertainty, or even outright anger. Paladin looked like he was starting to panic a little more before turning back to Jax and Jonathan. "Please..."

Jax raised his hand up. "No, enough. I feel you've done enough." Jax made a quick gesture to the side, indication Jonathan. "He will take over for you. And as for you..."

Paladin tensed up. He looked ready to try to speak out in his own defense, but it was clear that there was nothing that he could do. He could only wait and listen to what his fate was going to be now.

Jax seemed to take a little while to reply. Whether this was out of wanting to teach him a lesson or if he really didn't know what to say, neither of them knew. Everyone could only just watch and listen to what was going to happen. Even Blotz and Zibble, despite being the bigger victims here, felt themselves drawn in to this conflict. After giving an exhale, Jax finally gave his reply. "You will be placed under lock down for a little while. Perhaps some time alone will cool your jets."

"What?! No, you can't...!" Paladin pleaded, reaching his hand out towards them. "I'm innocent! I'm inno...!" But it was of little use. Tried as he might, he could not stop himself from being dragged off out of the room. It took about four zoners, but he was eventually subdued and removed from the premises.

Blotz had no idea what to think about what just happened. A part of him almost...felt sorry for the stick figure who was dragged away. That seemed rather strange and odd, considering what he had done to them. But he still felt a tiny bit bad for him seeing how absolutely no one was willing to defend him. But at the same time, he did kind of deserve what he got, since he did attack one of his own. None of the other stick figures liked that. That was one positive thing that he could say about them. At least they try to keep their malice contained.

Blotz looked over at Zibble and noticed her injuries. He immediately gritted his teeth, sucking in a sharp breath. In that moment, any amount of sympathy that he had for Paladin disappeared, replaced with bitterness and anger. That asshole still messed with his friend... He didn't care what he had done to him, but to Zibble, he...

His thoughts were cut off when he could feel a shadow moving over his body. He pulled his head back and he stared up at the zoner who easily towered him. Jonathan he presumed... He didn't like the way that he was looking at him. He swallowed hard and cringed back as far as he could in his chair, wondering just what this guy was going to do. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, twisting and stinging horribly. What was he going to do..?

"So what information have you all managed to get from these two?" Jonathan asked. It would seem that Jax had already disappeared, leaving Jonathan to do his new assignment."

It took a few seconds before one of the zoners replied, "They haven't spoken much...sir."

Jonathan stared into Blotz and Zibble's eyes, seeing the fear dwelling inside of them. He curled his lip up slightly, releasing a low growl. His eyes darted from one side to the other, studying them carefully, looking as though he were trying to read their minds. He seemed to take notice of when they glanced at each other, and there was a small twinkle in his eyes. Blotz nearly screamed at this. He had a feeling of what was about to happen but.. No, it couldn't be...

Jonathan sneered, "Then perhaps we should try something else..."

Blotz could see the cruel intent in Jonathan's eyes. He felt his body trembling and all of a sudden, he wished that Paladin was back. Now he was trapped with this guy, who seemed like he was going to be far more competent at getting what he wanted. If Paladin managed to get Snap to talk, than this guy would probably get answers out of him and Zibble in far less than half the time. This realization filled him with dread.

Jonathan motioned for two of the stick figures to come forth. They stopped right behind him and watched him carefully. Jonathan pointed over to where Zibble was. Blotz felt his heart skipping several beats as he saw the zoners take position beside Zibble, both of them wearing a sneer on their faces. He tried to struggle to get free, but it was useless. With a snap of Jonathan's finger, the two stick figures immediately grabbed onto Zibble.

"H-Hey... wait... I..." Zibble started to say, but she was quickly silenced with a painful strike against her head.

"Zibble!" Blotz shouted as he leaned forward, trying to free himself. He watched in horror as Zibble was struck again and again. He shut his eyes tightly before turning to Jonathan and shouted, "Please, stop it!"

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "Oh but I've only just begun. They haven't even actually started torturing her yet."

Blotz's eyes widened in horror at this. "No... Wait..please!"

Jonathan didn't listen to him. He just turned his head to the two zoners by Zibble. With a dark smile on his face, he gave a nod. Blotz was helpless to stop what had happened next.

The two stick figures pulled out long, thin rods from... _somewhere_. They held them up high, allowing Zibble to get a nice, long, good look at them before they brought them down on her. The zoner immediately began to scream as the poles struck her again and again. The sight of this horrified Blotz. He couldn't speak anything for the next several long moments, seeing her getting hit again and again.

Each time, she screamed painfully, her cries echoing throughout the room. Her body was becoming rapidly covered in bruises, some of them bleeding. Her head was tossed to the side the few times that it was hit. Her fingers arched and flexed as she tried to pull her arms free from their bindings. Suddenly, there was a great blow to her shoulder, causing her to jerk to one side. Her eyes were wide and her teeth bared. She struggled to scream, but this was stopped when she was struck against her throat. She gagged and gurgled, blood starting to form from her mouth.

Blotz's heart practically set on fire as he witnessed these continued brutal blows. "Stop it! Leave her alone!" Tears dripped from his eyes, staining his cheeks. "Stop hurting her, _please!_ "

But the stick figure zoners refused to listen to him. Jonathan did nothing to stop the beatings. He just continued to allow it to happen, letting the two stick figures strike Zibble again and again with their metal poles. She was hit in the face, her throat, her chest, her arms, her legs, wherever. She was getting beaten to a bloody pulp and there was nothing that he could do about it. He was utterly helpless. All Blotz could do was watch, small sobs starting to emit from his open mouth, his lip quivering. He looked over at Jonathan pleadingly, silently begging him to let his friend go.

Jonathan just ignored him. He had his eyes fully on Zibble. He was studying her, watching her carefully. With each blow, there seemed to be something almost different about his expression. It was hard to tell just what was going on through his mind. But it was clear that it was not anything good.

Blotz trembled harder as he could another whack against Zibble's side. Unable to take it anymore, he shouted, "Stop it, you freaks! Release her right now, you bunch of blank slates! I should just..!" He stopped, feeling his heart nearly stop as Jonathan turned to glare at him. "I..."

"You should what again...?" Jonathan tilted his head to the side. His eyes appeared to blaze right through his soul. "And what's this about his all being 'blank slates'...? Please, do you care to explain?"

Blotz looked around at the room. He could see that all eyes were on him now. The stick figures glared at him angrily, some even hate-filled. The only one not giving him an angered look was Zibble. But her look wasn't any better; she looked ready to start crying in fear. Blotz couldn't bring himself to say anything.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes further at this, snorting softly. "So you..want us to stop, eh?" He straightened himself up. "You think we've gone too far, right?" Blotz couldn't even get himself to glare at Jonathan at this. "Well then, in that case..."

Blotz flinched, cringing back and turning his head to the side. He refused to open up his eyes until he heard what the next words were going to be. And even then, the waiting was just brutal and he wasn't sure if he was going to be ready for the shotgun of an answer he was going to get. _He couldn't..._

"Your wish is granted."

Blotz looked up at him in shock. "What..?"

Jonathan nodded his head. He still looked pretty sinister, but somehow there was a slightly calmer atmosphere about him. "You heard me. We'll stop hurting your friend..." There was some murmuring among the stick figure zoners until he added, "...for now."

Blotz felt his heart skipping a beat.

Jonathan's eyes hardened. "I think that you and your little friend suffered enough. I think you two could use a break, don't you?" Jonathan reached out and gently patted Blotz on the head. The small boy growled at this, but that didn't stop Jonathan from petting him like he was some kind of a cat. "So don't worry; we will offer you a break. And who knows? Maybe you will... I don't know... See things our way?" He shrugged. "Maybe you will...reconsider your insubordination?"

Blotz just glared at the zoner even more, unwilling to respond to that. What could he say, anyway? There was really nothing at all that he could do. Anything he would try to say would surely be used against him. What's to stop this guy from taking his words and twisting them? Or using them to inspire something especially cruel? He shuddered at the thought. Best to remain silent.

Jonathan didn't seem upset that he didn't answer. He instead turned his head to where the two zoners were standing by Zibble. At this point, she was heavily bruised and bloodied. He gave a slow nod of his head and the two stick figures immediately undid her bindings and lifted her up. She was too weak to even try to fight back.

Jonathan said, "Take the two of them somewhere to recooperate a little. We will continue this song and dance later."

Blotz could feel himself being freed by a couple of the zoners as well. Just like Zibble, he was grabbed and held up into the air. Unlike Zibble, though, he did try to fight back a little. But his attempts were weakened as he looked at Zibble and feared for her safety. He eventually just hung his head in despair, emotions raging through his body, making it hard not to throw up. He and Zibble were soon carried down the hallway.

Blotz grunted as they headed down, his teeth clenching tightly, growling deeply. The zoners who carried him obviously didn't really care much about his well being or Zibble's. They did not care how much they hit them against the wall or ground during their dragging of them. They only cared about getting them to their next destination. They didn't care if they were hurt more; only that they remained alive by the time that they got there. After all, they did hold information that they wanted.

Blotz could see a door starting to form on the end of the hallway they were in. He gritted his teeth and he tried to struggle, but his efforts were in vain. How could he escape when he was being held up like this? He stood absolutely no chance. And the door kept getting larger and larger...

It looked pretty empty inside. Through the spacing between the stone bars, he could see a cracked, tiled floor and greyness. This was going to be one dingy place, surprisingly primeval for a place that was supposed to be more futuristic. But this primitiveness was almost fitting of these stick figure zoners. He wasn't sure exactly why, though.

The only consolation of this is that at least Zibble was going to have some time to rest. She was not going to have to worry about being hurt again; she could rest and heal up a little. Not much healing was going to be done. But hey, a little rest was always a good thing, right? And who knows? Maybe everything was going to work out in the end. Maybe there was some bit of hope left to hang onto. _Maybe..._

Or maybe he was just playing the fool's role. Maybe it was not that smart to keep holding on like this. Maybe he should just accept that sometimes, he just won't get what he wanted. As much as he would love for him and his sibling to be free, would they even get that chance? Realistically, he knew that they stood little chance of getting out. Hell, Rudy and Penny don't even know they were caught and by the time they do, the damage would already be done. Blotz as well as Zibble would have to wait before they would have an inkling of what was to happen.

Blotz let out a small grunt as the zoners pulled him back and then launched him forward, letting his body sprawl against the ground, rolling across it rather painfully. He came to a stop and rubbed his head. He shook it before turning back to glare at the stick figures. He was just in time to see Zibble being thrown into the ground. She landed on her side, her shoulder smashing the rocky surface, her body skidding a little as though she were a skipping stone.

"Zibble..!" He choked as he crawled over to her. He stared down at her body, his hands trembling, his lower lip quivering once more. Zibble didn't move this time, not even when he placed his hand on her shoulder and started to shake her. "Zibble...?"

But Zibble didn't respond. She just laid there, still and unmoving. It was like she had been turned into a statue, without actually being a statue, if that made sense. She was just sort of...there, and there was nothing indication that she was going to move from that spot in a long while. She was breathing at least, but that didn't stop him from worrying so much. His fears for her only grew in intensity and that would continue to be the case until she actually woke up.

He turned to glare once more at the stick figure zoners who locked them in here. But it would seem that they had better things to do and they just shut the door, leaving them inside to be alone with one another.

Okay fine, good riddance anyway. He had been wanting some peace and quiet from them. He wanted to wipe off their smug faces so badly... But knowing that he could not have done anything about that anyway, this was a decent alternative. Just spending sometime away from them, alone with his sibling, his friend. He would remain here with Zibble, helping her though her pain. He didn't know if he could treat her, but by gosh, he was going to at least make her comfortable. Maybe that's all that was needed in order to help her.

He flinched when he heard the way that she was gasping, trying to breathe. He grabbed onto his shirt collar, stretched it out a little and adjusted it. He could feel nervousness washing over his body, his heart pounding a little. The idea of Zibble being forced to...pass on... was not something that he wanted to think about all that much. He shut his eyes tightly, his body still shaking. He managed to control it this time around, but he didn't know how long that was going to last.

He then heard a small groan. He thought at first it was Zibble and he leaned it, waiting for her to open up her eyes. When he saw that she was not moving, he realized that she was not the one who had groaned. Instead, it was coming from somewhere off to the side. He looked over and he could see some kind of lump in the corner. Though he was hesitant to leave Zibble, he still found himself moving over there ever slowly.

When he got close enough, he could see that the form looked awfully familiar. Covered in dust and shadow, it was a little hard to tell at first if his hunch was right. But a bit of a closer inspection was able to yield to him more results. And when he saw that blue and that white, he immediately realized who this person was. There was no doubt.

It was _Snap_... And he did not look well...

"S-Snap..?" Whispered the small boy zoner. He moved in closer, each step becoming stiffer and stiffer. He stared down at Snap's shakingly breathing form. He looked for any signs of movement, but outside of a few twitches, there was none. It was like he was only sleeping and cold.

But Blotz knew better.

"C-Come on, Snap.. Get up. Please..." Blotz reached over and he grabbed onto Snap's shoulder. He gently shook him, hoping to stir him a little. But the zoner just remained on the ground, not moving. He tried to shake harder, but even that yielded no results. "Snap, are you there? Please if you can hear me, open your eyes..."

There was no response. Snap was... No, he wasn't dead. He was still breathing. He was just..badly hurt, that was all. He just needed some time before he could wake up. He needed to take a step back and give him some room. Snap would wake up soon. And when he did...

Blotz could feel himself churning inwardly with different emotions. There was a slight tinge of anger for Snap due to him selling them out like that. But mostly, he was just feeling afraid for him. He was afraid of losing him. He still considered Snap a friend and to see him like this was just...heart-wrenching. He didn't deserve to have something like this happen to him. He didn't deserve to be ripped apart like this.

Blotz looked at him more closely, and he gasped when he saw the true extent of his injuries. Along with the cuts and scrapes he had seen, there were a few deep bruises, but the most horrific thing was on his face. One of his eyes, it appeared to be... _Oh gawd no_... Blotz put his hand to his mouth swiftly, struggling to breathe normally. Was that..?

One of Snap's eyes had been slashed.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from this. He couldn't keep his eyes from looking at the hideous gash that snaked up along the side of the zoner's face, going right over his eye. He couldn't stop staring at the blood that had caked around that area, a mix of bright and dark red coloring. It didn't even look like that eye could open up anymore.

He took in a few deep breaths as he struggled to contain himself. He tried not to let this get to him. He tried not to allow himself to feel so...so... But how could he stop his emotions from raging throughout his body at this? How could he stop and sit down and try to relax? What hope did he have for any of that? If only he could just...

He heard a small groan behind him. He turned his head and he could see Zibble was waking up, her eyes fluttering open. He shifted himself around so he could see her, but his legs were too weak and wobbly for him to actually go over there. So he had to settle with watching her from afar. "Zibble..." He managed to whisper.

This seemed to have caught her attention. Her head raised up more a little quickly. She stopped herself and tensed up, her body going rigid and shaking. Seeing her in this much pain made Blotz grow more and more nauseous. She didn't look that much better off than Snap. And when she tried to get up, she ended up slipping and falling back down, letting out a cry of pain.

"Zibble! Be careful!" He shouted, his eyes wide with fear.

Zibble coughed and spluttered. She spat as she tried to get the dust and whatever else out of her mouth. She made a wrenching sound, shaking her head once, and then she looked over at him. Her expression was tired and she blinked her eyes a few times before she managed to choke out, "B-Blotz..? Wh-What's..." She flinched and gritted her teeth. "What happened..?"

Blotz bit his lip. " _Oh gawd_.. I'm _so_ sorry. I-I should have... I-I mean..." He couldn't speak any longer. His voice trailed off as he lowered his head, tears dripping down from his face. All he wanted to do right now was cling to Zibble, but even that seemed like an impossibility. Even if he could get over there, he would...hurt her, with those injuries.

Zibble pushed herself up once more. This time, she managed to at least sit up instead of fully standing up. This allowed her to stay up. She held onto her head, rubbing it carefully. She felt herself wobble from side to side, apparently suffering from a bout of dizziness. She looked over at Blotz for a moment before she turned her head, her paled eyes staring over at where Snap was. Almost immediately, she tensed up. "Why is he here...?"

Blotz blinked in confusion at this. "We're locked up with him." He looked down at Snap, flinching as he saw how badly he was breathing at the moment. "They must have dumped him in here after they were finished with him." He looked over at Zibble. "I-I don't know what's going to happen to us..."

Zibble gritted her teeth, letting out a low growl. "This is all... S-Snap's fault..."

"What...? Why do you say that...?" Blotz couldn't believe what he just heard. How could Zibble say such a thing? "H-He didn't ask for this...!"

Zibble just grumbled to herself, pulling her head to one side in one swift motion. "Whatever you say..."

Blotz licked his lips slowly. "Zibble, why are you..."

Zibble looked at him swiftly, catching him off guard. "He's still the one who ratted us out."

Blotz couldn't really think of anything to say to that. It was clear that Zibble blamed Snap for what happened. If he tried to talk to her more, he might end up just pissing her off. So perhaps it was best if he just remained quiet for now. He let out a small sigh as he looked away from Zibble and stared down at Snap once more. He reached down and gently patted him on the head.

He could only just imagine what he must have gone through. It had to have been similar to Zibble's attacks on her. He had never looked this bad before. Blotz wondered just how much of a miracle that it was that these zoners had stopped hurting him in time. How close had they come to outright killing him? And just how badly hurt was Snap? He wondered if there was any internal bleeding or internal bruising. The thought caused his heart to tie into a knot.

His mind then went to himself and Zibble. He had no idea how many times Snap had been hurt, if he ever gotten a 'break'. What awaited him and Zibble? How far were these zoners willing to go? Would they keep hurting them until they caved in, or died? There was really no telling what was going to happen. All they could do was just guess and...

He stopped himself when he heard the sound of coughing. He turned his head down to watch Snap as he started to shudder and stir. Blotz leaned in closer, his eyes widening and his mouth opening up slightly. He looked at him hopefully. Soon he could see his remaining eye start to open up slowly. The white eye, which looked paler than usual, stared up at him. He released a low groan and when he spoke, his voice sounded unusually throaty.

"B-Blotz..?"


	19. Gathering Alliances

Skrawl headed down the hallway slowly. He felt his teeth gritting tightly and he struggled to breathe in and out. He tilted his head up as he looked at the ceiling lights, which offered some light as he headed down this metallic hallway.

His head was swimming with thoughts, becoming dull, like something was pounding against it. He had never felt so bored before, and it hadn't been that long, either. He had felt himself fill up with adrenaline, excitement, at wanting to do something. But he could not leave. He was not yet ready to rebel against Pascal and take over from them. So in the meantime, he just...

He stopped for a moment when he noticed someone walking down the hallway. He narrowed his eyes slightly, his mismatched pupils struggling to see who it was. Some kind of stick figure.. If it weren't for the shirt they were wearing, he wouldn't have realized that it was Jax. He was alone, wandering down seemingly aimlessly. And no sign of Jonathan anywhere...

Skrawl narrowed his eyes softly. Perhaps now was his chance to try to talk to Jax. He just wanted to make sure that he was secure in his allegience. He wanted to make sure that this zoner would not try to betray him. He needed to make sure that as many of these people were on his side as possible. He did not want to take any kind of chance that they would turn his back on him. After all that he had accomplished, he was not going to let this slip through his fingers.

Skrawl made his way over. When he got close enough, he raised up his hands and waved at the zoner before him. "Hey...!" He called out. Jax seemed to jolt a little, startled by this sudden shout for him. Skrawl recoiled a little and smiled, "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm _not_ scared." Growled Jax. But his anger dissipated quickly as he brushed off his arms. "So let me guess. You want to 'talk' again..?"

Skrawl blinked at this. He then remembered that he did have another chat with him before. He had forgotten about that. But he also didn't want to just leave. It wouldn't hurt to still get that confirmation. And perhaps even try to get to know Jax a little more. To understand his motivations and just what his connection with Pascal was really like. He did not get that much information regarding that. There had to be more than what he had been told. Clearing his throat, he said, "Well... if you don't mind..."

Jax let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm not sure why you keep doing this." He paused for a moment. Then he looked at Skrawl, raising an eyebrow, looking rather suspicious. "What are you in this for...?"

Skrawl spluttered, "In it for... What are you talking about?" He tried to smile as he raised his hands at his sides in an innocent-like manner. "Is it wrong to just want to talk? Not like there's anything else around here for me to do."

"What about something Pascal has ordered? Surely they have something that you can do."

"Not really. They told me that most of the stuff was being done by the future zoners. There's little need for me to even intervene. Even my Beanie Boys have nothing to do."

"I see..." Jax nodded his head up and down slowly. "Well okay then. Let's talk."

The two of them moved closer to each other. They would have sat down, but there was nothing around here to do that on. Well except the ground, but neither were interested in doing that. So they just sort of leaned up against the walls and remained like this, remaining close yet still a good amount of distance away from each other. They stayed quiet for a while, both unsure of just how to start this awkward conversation. It took a while before Skrawl could think of any sort of ice breaker.

" _So_...just what is your relationship with Pascal like...?"

Jax turned to glare at him. "I've already told you. I..."

"..yes I know you told me that they gave you trouble. But you were never clear on just how." Skrawl raised his hand up in gesture. "Can you be more clear?"

Jax took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. He did not look all that happy right now. He looked eager to try to get away. But for whatever reason, he just could not do that. Something was drawing him here to stay and... Skrawl shook his head mentally to clear it while he waited for Jax to speak. And eventually, words did finally start to form from Jax's lax mouth:

"They've been..harassing us for a while. I'm not really sure why. But for the past several of my creation days, this guy's been the bane of my existence. They would show up and try to..." Jax's voice trailed off.

"Try to what?" Asked Skrawl.

"I'm not sure. I'm getting headache just thinking about it. So it must have been pretty awful." Jax gripped his head tightly, squeezing it firmly. He gritted his teeth to the point of nearly breaking them. "The only reason I agreed to help them out this time was to just...make it stop. That, and they had gone a little too far. Breaking into my hideout after a failed attempt on justice, attacking us, showing more determination than ever..."

Skrawl cocked an eyebrow at this. "You would...work for someone like that?"

Jax replied, "Not like I had a choice."

Skrawl shook his head. It wasn't that he really sympathized all that much with this guy. If anything, this was good news. He knew exactly how he could turn this around in his favor. If this zoner really did not care for Pascal, then it should be pretty easy to turn him against them. It was clear, from how this zoner was speaking, that Jax really did not care for that hooded zoner. If Skrawl played his cards right, he might be able to absolutely secure this zoner's loyalty and he would not even have to lift up a finger that much. All it would take was a few certain words.

He would still need to be careful. He would still need to watch his back. He could not slip this up. He could not let himself fall into any traps or anything. He needed to get back into his groove. He needed to stop being so lazy, get this over with, and then try to become more active, try to take more action. He felt like he had been doing very little. Mostly just talking and preparing, but not actually doing anything. Well _that_ was going to _change..._

...right after he had a chat with Jax, of course.

"Perhaps I could help." Skrawl finally said.

Jax tilted his head to the side. "How so?"

"If Pascal really is that bad... Well, maybe I could do something about that." Skrawl said with a broad, toothy smile. He pointed to himself and said, "I wouldn't let you down like that. I wouldn't treat you like..."

" _Aha!_ " Shouted Jax, his narrowed into slits. "I knew you were going to try pulling that fucking shit on me!"

"What?" Skrawl spluttered. "What are you talking about? I didn't even finish!"

"You don't need to finish. I already know exactly what's going on inside that head of yours." Jax's teeth were bared as he spoke. "I know exactly how people like you work." He lifted up his hand to point at him accusingly. "You pretend to sympathize, pick off at weaknesses, and do whatever you can to obtain some type of leverage. You don't really care about me or my people. We might have similar goals, but we are far from the same liege." Jax took a few steps towards Skrawl, straightening himself up as though to make himself look taller. "I'm not falling for your tricks! Oh no... I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were." Skrawl stared to say. He made a few quick motions with his hands, his voice softening up. "Please, at least..."

Jax raised up his hand. "No. I won't have it." He looked away, refusing to look at Skrawl. "If you want me to accept you as my leader..." He took in a deep breath and exhaled it out forcefully out of his nostrils. "You will have to earn my respect. And you will have to prove that you really do wish to help."

Skrawl stared at him long and hard, his mouth open partially. His mind felt frozen and he couldn't speak for several seconds. He could feel a headache pounding through, as though someone were trying to break open his skull. Eventually he managed to reply in an unusually quiet voice, "..and just how do you want me to do that?"

Jax just shrugged in response. "Figure it out."

"Figure it out? But..."

"You're a smart guy. I'm sure you can think of something."

Skrawl didn't know what to think when he saw Jax looking at him that way. That smirk that spread along his face. That sort of smugness that became his aura. It almost reminded Skrawl of himself, as though he was looking into a mirror.

And that's exactly what he hated about this.

Skrawl hissed through clenched teeth. It was obvious that Jax was just toying with him a little. It was abundantly clear to him that Jax knew exactly what he was doing, and he was trying to play him like a fiddle. And Skrawl was pretty much 'allowing' this to happen. He was falling right into his steps and grooves, and doing little to resist it. That made his headache even worse and he felt the urge to just try to lay down, and yet a part of him wanted to say. This was not yet over.

If zoner thought that he could walk away without agreeing to his terms, well he had another think coming. Skrawl just needed to word things better, try to appeal to this zoner, try whatever he could to ensure that Jax was more willing to listen to him than Pascal. He needed that assurance, that security. He was determined not to slip up again like he had before. He was not going to allow a repeat of fucking Brain happen.

Then a thought came across his head. It smacked him like a boulder, and it was as though a light switch had been flipped inside of his head. He could feel himself starting to smirk a little, but he managed to keep it barely detectable. He looked right at Jax, feeling hopeful that this would change the zoner's mind. _If he was really that hateful of Pascal..._

In a low voice, Skrawl seethed, "What if I were to promise you Pascal's head..?"

Slowly, Jax's eyebrow raised up. It was hard to say if he was really convinced by this or not. The silence did not help matters. But it seemed like at least his attention was caught. If Skrawl could keep his attention, then perhaps he stood a chance at getting Jax to be more cooperative. Then he could stop running around in circles, stop feeling like he was repeating things over and over again, and actually start doing something of meaning.

"What if I could promise you that, if you work for me and not Pascal, I will help you get back at them...?" Skrawl said, raising his hands up into the air dramatically. "What if you could make them pay for what they've done to you, your people...?" Skrawl's grin spread further. "Doesn't that sound intriguing...? What do you say...?"

Jax blinked once slowly. Then there seemed to be a glint in his eyes as he leaned a little closer, his head tilting to one side. "Alright then... You have my attention."

sss

Well that had worked out just fine. Took a little longer than he would have liked, but still, at least he had managed to succeed in what he wanted to do. He felt a sense of pride overwhelming him, feeling his mouth corners curl up even further than before. He started to release a low chuckle before he managed to catch himself. He knew that he shouldn't get too cocky. If he did, he might end up slipping up.

Of course, that didn't mean that he shouldn't have some sort of celebration to himself at some point. After all, he has managed to outsmart that Pascal fellow. They thought that they had control over the situation. _Just wait until reality fell down upon them..._ It was going to be quite grand indeed.

Skrawl remembered the meeting like it was yesterday, although it was only a few minutes ago. He and Jax had spoken for a while. It hadn't been that easy to convince Jax to work for him. That zoner, despite being rather eager to get even with Pascal, just wasn't really sure what to feel about him. Skrawl couldn't say that he was too surprised by this. It would make sense that the zoner did not know what to make of him. And it did not surprise him at all when, in the end, Jax did give into his desires over his logic.

Jax had promised that he would still pretend to be on Pascal's side, but when the time came, he would choose Skrawl over Pascal. And with that promise, Skrawl was assured that the stick figures, as well as the future zoners, would all follow him.

He did pause for a moment at that. He thought long and hard about this. Was this really the best route to take? The future zoners follow him because he's their leader now. Craniac had been demoted and not many of the future zoners are willing to listen to him anymore. Should he do something about Jax as well? Along with Jonathan too perhaps? He did have Jax's word, but at the same time, what if it didn't work out as well? Perhaps he should just...

No, he had already made a deal with Jax. He had already gotten him to listen. There was no need to worry about that any longer. The best thing to do right now was to just keep heading down the hallway so he could meet with Pascal themself. He was quite curious on what they were doing right now. He hoped that they had made some decent progress. With the way that that zoner had been acting, it seemed very likely that they did have something in the works. Wouldn't hurt to check it out, right?

He turned around the corner and began to move through...only to bump into something. He staggered back a little and shook his head. He narrowed his eyes down at the zoner on the ground, baring his teeth. "Hey, watch it! I..." He stopped himself when he realized who it was. He immediately adopted a more submissive stance. "Oh, Pascal... Sorry, I didn't see you there..." He clasped his fingers together and took a few steps back, lowering his head slightly. "I do so apologize..." Disgusting, but he did have to remain on Pascal's good side.

"Oh that's all right. I'm fine. It was just an accident." Pascal crawled up to their feet, rubbing their head. "I was actually on my way to see you."

"So was..." Skrawl stopped himself, clearing his throat. "I-I mean... You were?"

Pascal nodded their head. "I wanted to show you something."

"What is it?" Asked Skrawl.

Pascal replied, "Follow me."

Skrawl proceeded to follow Pascal as the zoner gestured for him to come. The jellybean-like zoner kept right behind them, careful not to go too fast. He kept his head a little low, making it look as though he was being submissive to him. A little uncomfortable, but it was going to be well worth it in the end.

Skrawl and Pascal made their way towards a large door at the end of the hallway. Skrawl blinked slowly as he stared at it. He didn't recall ever being here before. It was located close by any other place and... Well, why hadn't he seen this before? Could Pascal have camouflaged it somehow? He wasn't really sure how, but then again, so many things were possible in ChalkZone. So he really shouldn't be all that surprised.

When they got closer, the door automatically opened up. It hissed and slid to the side, allowing the two entrance inside. They walked in slowly, almost side by side, and soon they moved through the door's opening. Skrawl nearly jumped when it slammed behind him without warning. He shook his head and he rushed over to catch up to Pascal, who was leading him towards what looked to be a large panel and a series of monitors. Skrawl's pacing slowed down the closer that he got. He could not help but be in awe and amazement at the sight of this thing. If only he had this kind of security system...

He shook his head, snapping out of his daze, as he heard Pascal begin to speak with him. "Yes, what?"

"I said, the future zoners have completed the construction. And nobody knows." Pascal grinned broadly. "Finally, we can move forth."

Skrawl blinked at this, and then he gave a dark chuckle. "Splendid! So no one paid attention, eh?"

"Nope." Pascal shook his head from side to side. "Because the zoners and those humans are too focused on the stick figures to worry about some future zoners." They raised their hand up and curved their fingers inward. "Because of those children's dedication in trying to stop the stick figures, they've left the area wide open for me and the future zoners to set up our new base."

Skrawl cocked his head to the side. "New..base...?"

Pascal nodded. "You didn't think we'd stay here forever, did you? Pee shaw!" They waved their hand in a dismissive manner. "Don't be silly! This was just temporary. It's isolated from the rest of ChalkZone, which made it the ideal spot to plan this out. But now that our new hideout is finished, we'll be moving there. It's even better than this place. I mean..." Pascal moved their hands about at their side, making a few small faces. "It's so..out in the open..."

"And this new base is hidden, you say?" Skrawl inquired. Pascal nodded their head. "And exactly how is it hidden? Did you put it deep underground?"

"Well...sort of." Pascal replied.

"What do you mean sort of?"

"Let me turn on the monitors and you'll find out."

Skrawl sighed softly as he turned his head to the monitors. He wasn't really sure exactly where this zoner was getting at. But he figured it wouldn't hurt to check. Besides, what if his idea did turn out to be pretty good? If this new hideout could conceal them better than this place, then why not go for it? He didn't really see the issue there. And honestly, he...

Skrawl's train of thought was interrupted when the monitors came to life. He could hear them blipping and beeping once, and then they turned on. His eyes were immediately filled with dull blue light and he could feel the glow crawling along his face. He widened his eyes for a moment, shaking his head, and then he resumed to stare at the screen before him. He wondered if he was just seeing things, or if this could possibly be real.

It was real. There was no doubt about it. He knew that he was staring at one of the most impressive bases he's ever seen. _No_... As much as he hated to admit it, this was more impressive than any of his.

After all, it was within a volcano.

Skrawl moved his eyes along the screens, looking at the base in whatever details were available. He could see the clear glass windows that made up a few sides of the volcano. He could see the interior where the volcano's lava was being poured into different powers, giving power to the place. He could see thick, hard obsidian coating the place, giving it some armor and protection. He could see the pathways leading further down into it, a lower level existing several feet below. And he could see that the entrance was hidden, requiring to move along a long corridor and the entrance being located a very long ways from the volcano itself.

It was an incredible sight. The entire base was concealed underneath the volcano. The glass that he had seen, he realized that they were one way, as marked on the map given to him. A window to the outside world. But to anyone coming in, it was just a regular volcano. And it was surrounded by so many others. Surprisingly, this was one of the smallest, though not much less active, volcanoes. He realized that it was chosen for a reason; people were more interested in visiting the bigger volcanoes, plus its small size gave it an extra bit of camouflage.

And to think, this was going to be his place to stay once they got everyone moving... Skrawl could not help but smile at this. It would seem that things were starting to turn around a little.

"Impressive, is it not?" Asked Pascal.

Skrawl had to struggle not to laugh too much. He did not want to seem too obvious. "Yeah... Quite impressive. I'm sure we will make really good use out of this thing..."

"Oh I am sure we well." Grinned Pascal. "I'm sure we will."

The two zoners just stood side by side each other as they stared at the live footage and map of their new volcano hideout. There was no more need for any words. Nothing needed to be said. The footage spoke for itself. They just watched it and allowed smiles to spread along their faces. But of course, they would not be for the same reason, as Skrawl would be first to admit.

But still, it would be fun while it lasted, right? He could even use this place to do something about that pesky Rudy Tabootie. Say... how well would he and his friends be able to swim in lava...? Skrawl smiled at the thought.

sss

Snap was not really sure what to make of his present situation. He was still trying to remember exactly how he got here in the first place. He couldn't even recall precisely the last memory he could muster before he woke up here. What he was aware of now was that he was in some dingy, smelly room, in a lot of pain, and someone was treating his arm.

That someone being Blotz.

Snap stared over at the boy zoner in confusion. His presence made the whole situation even more difficult for him to understand. He tried to think of something, anything to explain this. But about the only thing he could do right now was just...recognize that he and the other two in here were captured. This whole place did give off quite the 'dungeon prisony' kind of feel. He couldn't think of anything else that could be going on.

He didn't really say much as Blotz continued to work on his arm carefully. He could feel the cloth going up and down his arm, washing the cuts that were there. Snap could barely turn away, even when watching this made him flinch more and more. It didn't help that he didn't really know exactly how close Blotz was. This was a confusing detail, but he wanted to chalk it up to just...being really confused and still waking up, so to speak. He was confident that he would eventually get more of his memories back and get a better grasp on the situation.

In the mean time, he tried to keep himself as calm and still as possible. He tried to keep from crying out as he felt countless bouts of pain surging through his body. He could feel echoes of agony in every limb, in his stomach, in his face. He had no idea just who had decided to use him for a punching bag, but he was eager to return the favor.

It would seem that he was not the only one who had been hurt. Looking over, he became abundantly clear that Zibble, the third and final prisoner here, was badly hurt, too. She hadn't really spoken when he woke up and she wasn't even looking over here. Snap was not really sure why, but he was not about to ask her questions right now. It was clear that she was not in the mood to speak. Seeing her condition, it was not hard to figure out why.

She looked as badly broken as he did. He could see so many injuries decorating her body. He could see that she had been bleeding, both externally and internally. He could see her gashes, some of them still bleeding a little bit. He could see her shaky breathing, and the way that she seemed to rattle around her chest area suggested that she had a lot of damage there, too. This realization made Snap's heart ache as he imagined just what kind of pain she was in. Was it the same as he was feeling now? Or was she feeling worse?

Though a part of him wanted to speak to her, he knew that it wouldn't be a good idea right now. He could see how she was, the expression on her face. He didn't want to aggravate her further than she already was. The physical pain itself combined with the terror of being locked up was enough for her. She didn't need something else added onto that.

So his intention instead went to Blotz. A part of his aching, heavied mind wondered if he would know what happened. Could he tell him exactly what had transpired? Would he be able to explain why he was so badly hurt, along with Zibble? There was only one way to find out. He took a moment to clear his throat. And then, tentatively, he asked the question.

"What happened here?"

Blotz froze at the question, and Zibble looked over at him. Snap looked at them back and forth, blinking slowly. With the way that they were looking at him... Snap swallowed hard. Had he missed something? He tried to say something, but his voice was caught on his throat. It was clear that there was something going on that he had not yet figured out. He had a feeling that he was not going to like it.

Blotz was the first one to speak. "Y-You mean, you...don't know...?" Blotz glanced over at Zibble as though to ask her a silent question. He then looked back at Snap, licking his lips slowly. "You're absolutely sure that you have no inclination of what went on? You don't remember anything?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking you this question, now would I?" Snap didn't mean to sound that firm, but he just...wanted to know what the heck was going on. "Now can you please tell me what..."

"You _betrayed_ us."

Snap went rigid at this statement. He could see Blotz's mouth wide open, but he knew that it was not him who had said those words. With his neck straining, he turned over to look at where Zibble was. He could see her arms folded up, her eyes narrowed as she looked at him sideways. There was no kindness or understanding in that expression. Just a cold look. It took Snap a while before he could bring himself to speak. In a shaky voice, he said, "Wh-What do you mean..?"

Zibble released a low hiss at this as she turned her head further to glare at him. Snap tried to keep himself from shaking. After all, this was only Zibble and she was too hurt to do anything to him anyway. But there was something about that icy look that just made her look so...terrifying. It was like she was going to reach out towards him with one long, razor hand and slash him up. A silly thought, but he couldn't help but delve into it as his heart beat faster.

"Don't pretend you don't know, you traitor." Came her icy response. "You were the one who told these stick figures about us! It's your fault we're trapped here!"

"Stick figures...?" Snap questioned. For some reason, that did sound really familiar. He could feel something in the back of his mind start opening up, but he still could not completely recall those memories, no matter how hard they tried clamoring for the surface. "What are..."

Zibble was not pleased with this response. She seemed to get more and more pissed off the longer Snap looked at her this way. " _You little fucker!_ Stop pretending that you...!"

" _Enough!_ " Blotz raised up his hand. He glared at his sister with the most stern look Snap's ever seen. Seriously, it would give Penny a run for her money. Blotz and Zibble glared at each other for several long moments before Zibble finally just grunted and turned away. Blotz shook his head before looking down sadly at Snap. "I apologize for her. She's just...worried. That's all."

Snap wasn't really comforted by this. Despite not remembering, something told him that Zibble had not been lying. He must have done something...and he couldn't even recall what it was. What did he tell the stick figures? How much information did he give away? Did he partake in the beatings? He just didn't really know.. And honestly, he wouldn't be at all surprised if him attacking Zibble had been the reason she and him were so beat up. They might have done this to each other. He just...

When he shut his eyes, he felt some kind of sting on his face. He lifted his hand and instinctively pressed it against that area...only for him to seethe and immediately pull back. He looked at his hand, gritting his teeth at the specks of red that were now staining his glove, looking a bit more purple thanks to his glove being blue. He pressed it against his face again and saw that more blood was staining it. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind and he felt his gut twist. To make sure that he was absolutely correct, he decided to do a test. First one hand over one eye, and then over the other and...

 _Oh no... Oh gawd no..._ Could it be that.. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't _possibly_ be...

He repeated the test a few more times just to be sure. He hoped for some kind of variation. Something that would assure him that everything was all right. But the more that he did this, the more that it only confirmed his worst fears.

It was the only thing that would explain why he couldn't tell how far away anything was. It was the only thing that would explain the blood in the pain in that spot right where an eye would be located. It was the only thing that would make any sense.

One of his eyes had been damaged.

sss

Rudy lifted up his head as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He immediately gritted his teeth as he waited for the long shadow to stretch over and eventually reveal who this person was. But he didn't really need to guess. There was only one person who would be coming down this way.

He glanced over at Penny and Rapsheeba. He took note of how Penny was holding onto Rapsheeba, trying to settle her down. He bit his lip at the sight of this. He felt so bad for the two of them. He wished that there was something that he could do for them. He wished that he could spark their hope, give them a reason to believe that they could get out of this.

But what could he do? There was very little that he could do. There was no way that they could get out of this thing. They had no magic chalk, a realization that filled him and Penny and Rapsheeba up with dread. So they had no choice but to sit here and wait for their fates to be revealed. The only consolation was being able to be alone for a while, with his friends of course. He wasn't really interested in seeing another stick figure zoner for a while, especially not Darling.

But that was about to change. He knew that it was Darling approaching. That shadow was more than enough to give away that it was him. Rudy gripped his fists tightly as he recalled how the zoner had treated them. Tossing them in here without fully explaining why... _Well no more_. They were going to get their answers, and Darling was going to be the one to tell them. He would see to that.

Soon he could see the stick figure zoner coming into view around the corner. Rudy gritted his teeth and grabbed onto the bars. He tried not to let himself get too angry or start banging anything. He also tried to keep his own pain in check, the marks on his arm from Skrawl not having fully healed yet. He instead just focused on the encroaching zoner, his heart racing faster and faster. He had no idea what to expect or what to do. But he still needed to keep under control. He wasn't going to get much results if he were too hasty, would he?

Penny and Rapheeba also crawled up to their feet. Rapsheeba seemed to wobble a little and this served as a reminder to Rudy that she had been hurt. This realization made him bite his lip. Why had he forgotten about that? She had been injured by those zoner creeps and... He tried to shake off the guilty feeling for now. He needed to focus on Darling.

Darling stopped to stare at them, his narrowed eyes moving from one side to the other as he appeared to study them. He looked just as unhappy as they did about this, and the tension that this created filled the air all around them. It was like the anxiety was becoming a solidified thing, forcing them to require cutting into the surface just to have a chance at some free movement. But even despite this, none of them backed down or looked away.

Darling narrowed his eyes for a moment, as though he were either frustrated or impressed by them just looking at him this way. But he soon cleared his throat and he took a few steps forward. Gone were his too-obviously-friendly expressions or antics, and in their place stood a zoner that was being one hundred completely serious. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, they needed time to figure that out.

Darling took in a deep breath and exhaled. He took another moment to look at them before he finally began to talk. With his arms folded behind his back, he said, "So are you ready to speak?"

"About what?" Penny asked from behind Rudy. Despite her glare, her voice did not contain as much anger as Rudy would have expected. It was like she had an unprecedented amount of control over herself...which was the case.

"You know exactly what I mean!" Darling took a step forward, raising a hand and indicating not just Penny, but every one present. "You all know exactly what you were doing... Trying to curse me like that..." Darling shut his eyes tightly, squeezing them so much that it looked like the lids would rip right off. He shook his head from side to side, his body trembling. "I-I just don't get it..." He swiftly lifted his head up, his hands outwards and fingers arched towards each other like he was mimicking a raptor. "Why the fuck would you do that?!"

Rudy snapped his head back and growled. "Just what are you talking about? We weren't trying to do anything!" He pushed himself closer, pointing an accusing finger at the zoner before him. "You're the one who decided to lock us up here like we were some kind of...of criminal!"

Darling spouted back, "Well you are!"

"What did we _do?!_ "

"You tried to curse me!"

" _How?!_ "

"You should fucking know!"

Rudy could feel a headache spreading through his skull. He took a step back as he released a loud 'gah' sound and gripped his head tightly. This zoner was being impossible to talk to, and the frustration around not understanding was taking its toll on his mind. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. He was doing his best to keep himself under control, but he was getting very tempted to just grab this zoner by his neck and shake him for answers. And he knew that was not going to be a good idea.

He glared daggers at Darling as he struggled to figure out what he was talking about. He tried to explore his own mind and try to figure out exactly what could have been pestering the zoner. But so far, nothing would come to his mind. He just could not get why Darling thought they were trying to curse him. Did it have something to do with the name 'Raindrop' or was it something else?

Well until Darling told them exactly, it was only going to be a guess.

The mayor looked like he was starting to run out of patience. He was pacing back and forth constantly, watching them with narrowed eyes. He gritted his teeth and looked around at them, as though waiting for them to speak. But when they didn't, he looked on the verge of just smacking them.

"All I want is an answer..." The mayor spoke. "Is that really too much to ask?!"

"If you don't explain, then it is." Rudy said, still looking at the zoner with narrowed eyes and clenched teeth. "You locked us up in here without telling us exactly what we did and you won't explain anything!"

"Because you won't confess!" Cried out the mayor. "We can talk more if you are just willing to admit what you have done! And then explain why you would do such a thing!"

Rudy took a step forward, adopting a more defensive stance. "We'll tell you more if we knew what the fuck was going on!"

The mayor raised his hands up into the air as he declared, "Oh don't you dare start that shit up again!"

" _What shit?!_ "

"You already know that!"

Rudy had to struggle to keep himself from screaming. But this was getting increasingly difficult to do. How in the world was he going to manage to get through this thick skulled zoner? What was he going to need to do to make him realize that they are not getting anywhere with this? Something told him that this would keep going on like this in a continued repeated pattern, and there was nothing that would change it.

Darling was not going to back down because he seemed utterly convinced that they were trying to do him harm. And Rudy would not budge because he knew that this was not true and he wanted answers. He and Darling were just going to keep butting heads until one of them caved in. And he had no idea how that was...

He heard someone clear their throat. It was not Darling and it didn't sound like Penny. Could it be Rapsheeba? The boy turned his head to look at the singer zoner, whose arm he noticed was raised up. He and the others remained quiet as Rapsheeba's small voice filled their ears. That was a pretty nice change from having them screaming at one another, that's for sure.

"Why don't we both speak...?" Asked Rapsheeba.

"What?" Penny asked.

Rudy was also confused. "What are you suggesting, Rapsheeba?"

"I mean..." Rapsheeba paused for a moment. She released a few small coughs against her hand. It sounded so pitiful... Rapsheeba soon looked up at them and offered a small smile. "Maybe we should just...tell each other? Both explain?"

Darling took a few steps closer. His eyes were exclusively on Rapsheeba for this moment. Noticing the zoner looking at Rapsheeba this way did make Rudy tense up, but he remained silent and waited for the zoner to speak. "So...you are suggesting that we both just...explain our side of the story? Is that what you are suggesting?"

Rapsheeba nodded her head slowly. "It's clear that you two aren't making any progress with just arguing back and forth." She looked at both Rudy and Darling when she said this. Her expression made Rudy flinch. He knew that she was absolutely right. "So why don't you both explain? Never mind if you think the other already knows. Just assume they don't and speak."

Penny tapped a finger against her chin. "You know, that does seem like a pretty good idea." She looked up at where Rudy stood, her expression thoughtful. "Why don't we try that?"

Rudy stared at Penny and Rapsheeba for a moment before he looked over at Darling. The two stared at one another, their eyes still narrowed, both still looking pretty tense. There was a part of Rudy that was still tempted to just chew out this zoner for his actions.

...but he did know that Rapsheeba made a good point. Penny was right. They should be trying something else instead of just bickering back and forth. This was not going to get them anywhere. He was just going to make it increasingly more and more difficult for them to get anything done. And he had a feeling that if it continued, Darling just might lock them up forever, and he and Penny would...

He shook the thought out of his head and released a small sigh. Yeah, there was really only one thing that they could do right now. Otherwise it was just going to be a back and forth banter and they will never get anything done. So with a heavy sigh, his expression softened up slightly as he said to Darling without looking, "...all right, _fine_. I'll...talk."

Darling seemed to glare at him a little too long. The sensation made Rudy shudder and he tried not let this show. But feeling those eyes burden against his shoulders... He just wasn't sure what he was going to do. He did his best to just remain silent and wait for the zoner to start speaking to him. Waiting silently... The pressure increasing...

At long last, Darling said, "Okay...I can agree to that..."

Rudy tried not to let out a 'phew' sound at this. He did loosen up his body a little, becoming more relaxed. "I'm glad we can agree on something."

Darling turned his head to the side, giving Rudy a somewhat dirty look out of one eye. "I still don't know why I have to explain anything to you..." Rudy flinched. Oh no, please tell him that he's not going to start that up again... Thankfully, Darling seemed to recoil this and bent his head down slightly. "But okay. At least we'll get some sort of progress taken care of now."

Rudy and the others gave a small, tentative smile at this. They glanced at one another, feeling some happiness that they were finally agreeing on something. They knew they still had to be careful and they had to keep their words under control. They both hoped that, now that they were actually speaking to each other about their issues, they could figure out what was going on and work from there. Rudy hoped that, whatever was going on, it was just a misunderstanding and it could easily be cleared up.

Rudy folded his arms to his chest a little as he made his way even closer to the front of the cage. He was so close now that his face nearly touched the bars. He stared intently at Darling, feeling his body going rigid for a moment. He knew exactly who the first person to talk should be.

"Why don't you start?" Rudy said as he motioned to the stick figure zoner. "Since you were the one who dragged us out here, since you were the first one to start 'freaking out', I think you owe us an explanation first."

" _You_..."

Rudy raised his hand up and quickly added, "We will give our explanation right after you're finished. We promise."

Darling stared at him for a moment, licking his lips slowly. "You...promise...?"

Rudy nodded his head. "You have my word."

Darling turned his head to the side, gritting his teeth, still glaring. It looked obvious that he still was not sure about this whole thing. But he didn't look like he was going to try to actively resist it. It would seem that even he realized that this was their best shot. Explain, and stop trying to accuse the other of something that might not be true. Darling seemed to rapidly realize this and he straightened himself as he prepared to talk.

"All right then. Here's how it is..."

Rudy, Penny, and Rapsheeba listened intently as the zoner began to explain.


	20. A Most Gruesome Game

"I can tell you, I've never seen something so horrific in my life. We don't even know when it started. Some say it's been happening for a long time. Perhaps it was just our unfortunate location... Or perhaps it has something to do with what we did to anger our creators. Well, either way, here we are now, with a reality that is more horrifying than you could ever imagine."

Darling stopped for a moment. He looked around, making sure that the two humans and the single zoner were getting what he was saying. He cleared his throat and forced himself to continue.

"Day in and day out, it happens. Time and time again..." He stopped himself, unable to continue right then and there. He gritted his teeth tightly and shook his head slowly, trying to prevent himself from becoming too overwhelmed. But oh gawd, this was so difficult to talk about. Just thinking about it kept bringing back horrible memories. "We... We wouldn't even receive any warning. It would just happen out of nowhere. One minute, we would be just fine, going about our day, as happy as can be..." His voice drolled off for a moment. "And then.. _they_ would appear..."

" _Who_ would appear..?" Asked Rapsheeba tentatively.

Darling stared at her before looking away. Just thinking about what happened caused several chills to go up and down his spine. He tried to keep himself as calm as possible. He needed to get through with this. He had been able to do this before. He could do it again.

He was still a bit annoyed that he even had to explain at all, however. Shouldn't the humans know what was going on? They live on the other side of the barrier, do they not? They would have seen what was happening. It didn't help that he knew that this incident occurred in other places of ChalkZone. These humans had no excuse in saying that they didn't know. They...

Well it was too late now anyway. He was already in the middle of explaining the situation. He might as well just keep on going and get it over with. And perhaps, after all was said and done, he could finally understand what is happening. And from there, maybe even find a way to prevent it. The idea of a city devoid of such... terrifying things felt like a dream too distant to be grabbed. But what if it was possible?

"... _bodies_..." Darling's voice was soft and quiet. Yet judging from the looks of horror on the three people's faces before him, he knew that they understood exactly what he was talking about. "Most of them already dead... but the worst ones... the ones still alive for a moment... I can still hear their pained gurgles, choking to death mere minutes after they just came alive..."

"B-Bodies...?" Penny put a hand to her mouth. It looked as though she had lost several shades of her skin tone.

Rudy's eyes bulged wide open and he looked like he was about to fall down. He was struggling to speak for several moments, but his tongue kept tripping over itself. It felt like several minutes passed before he managed to speak, "Y-You mean... people were..."

"That's awful... I... I don't know what to say..." Rapsheeba squeaked out.

Darling remained quiet as he watched the three's reaction. He more that he stared at them, the more he started to think that this reaction indicative of just finding out something was authentic. Perhaps they really didn't know what was going on. Darling didn't know how, but... he knew that these reactions couldn't be faked so easily. Upon this realization, he lowered his head for a moment, feeling a little guilty for being so accusatory before. Then he pressed on, telling them more so they could get a better idea of just what was happening.

"I dread thinking about those bodies. Every time I close my eyes, I can see them. Flopping about, the unlucky few who were still alive during the whole thing. And then the ones who were dead..." He looked down at his hands. He felt his body trembling, a burning sensation underneath his eyes indicating that he was about to cry. "I've seen some bodies even land in front of people, at diners during romantic getaways, or in children's playgrounds..."

Rudy shook his head slowly. "That's just _sick_..." He narrowed his eyes. "I mean... I know I can't blame the creators for this, but still..." His eyes faced downward, one of his fists clenching tightly against his side. "You would think that people would be more careful about what they draw."

Penny didn't look over at Rudy when she said, "Nobody else knows about ChalkZone. They would not understand what they were doing."

Darling wasn't really sure how to take this. He's unsure if he should really believe that nobody in the Real World knows, or if there's some people who do know. He wanted to believe that the creators meant no real harm...but at the same time, some of the things were just...to specific. It didn't help that it was always a stick figure. _What did these people have against stick figures...?_

He shook the thought out of his head. He would try to figure that out later. He needed to first finish telling these three more of what was going on. He hadn't yet gotten into describing the bodies themselves. The idea of doing so filled him with horror. But he knew that it must be done. He closed his eyes for several seconds as he collected his thoughts. He could feel a stinging sensation in his heart and the need to throw up. He knocked those out of his head and he took a small step forward, staring intently at Rudy, Penny, and Rapsheeba. Now came among the hardest parts.

"The bodies... They always showed a pattern..." Explained Darling. "There was always something...particular about them. Variations of the same thing."

"Variations...?" Whispered Penny. "You mean that..." She seemed to figure out what he was alluding to, and she cringed. " _Oh gawd_.."

Rudy, who seemed to have forgotten his after at him earlier, was now looking at him with a somewhat pleading look. "Can you tell us how..."

"Yes... I hate to do this, but... you deserve to know." Darling turned his head, facing one direction. He took in slow, deep breaths as he prepared for this moment. A part of him was not sure if this was a good idea or not. But another realized that he already committed do doing this. So he might as well get it over with. "The bodies were...almost never complete."

Rudy and Penny glanced at each other. Their faces went through a series of expressions. Most of them indicated apprehensive confusion. Rapsheeba seemed to have a better idea, though, as her face showed the appropriate horror that Darling expected.

"They were just...erased without arms? Or legs?" Rapsheeba spoke. Her question chilled the air, and Rudy and Penny stiffened, now looking as horrified as Rapsheeba. They looked back at him expectantly.

Darling stared at them, his face contorting for a second before looking away. "...yes. More or less." He looked back at them and began to describe more in detail. "That isn't to say that we don't see 'full' corpses. But a lot of the corpses would be missing something. And it's always the same pattern. Either it will only be a head. Or it will be a head with one arm, or two arms. Or just missing one leg. Or missing all the limbs."

"What about missing arms but having legs?" Asked Penny.

Darling shook his head. "No. I don't know why... But I'm not particularly that curious to find out." He bit his lip firmly. He could feel the chilling thoughts surging through him. He struggled to keep his churning stomach bile under control. "But yes... The bodies are either complete, which seems to be a bit less common, and the bodies would either be missing one leg, both legs, have only the arms or one arm, have only the body, or just be a head."

Darling stopped to allow the three to get the gruesome image painted in their heads. He could see the way they looked at each other. He could see how disgusted they looked. And he could tell that they were about to throw up. He waited a little while longer before he continued.

"And another thing. The necks... They..." Darling rubbed his arms against each other. He did his best to fight against the horrible thoughts crawling in the back of his mind. He found himself rubbing his own throat as he imagined it happening to himself. "With the exception of the head-only corpses, the others..their necks would be snapped. A noose would be tied around them and their necks would always be at such odd, painful angles."

Penny gasped at this. "They always died of a broken neck?"

Darling nodded slowly. "Always. The head-only... I think decapitation. But neck breakage is the most common." He shuddered, fighting back tears as they formed in his eyes even more. But this time, he wasn't able to keep his cool for much longer. The tears just dropped down to the ground. He sniffled a little and released a few small cries. "I don't know why anyone would... And all the people that this scarred..."

"I hate to interrupt, but..."

Darling stared over at Rudy.

"What was this about cursing you? Could you explain?"

"Oh yes, of course. Thanks for...reminding me." Darling moved his hand against his head, moving back along its top. "Well, there was something else common with these bodies. They all had them... And they were sort of the opposite." He raised his hand up in gesture. His fingers pointed inward at himself. "None of us can really understand why. But for whatever reason, a word is placed with these stick figures."

The two humans appeared to stiffen at this.

" _Words..?_ " Rudy asked, his voice dissipating quickly.

"Yes, words." Darling explained. "Along with underscores. Varying lengths, all of them. And what is confusing is..." Darling gritted his teeth. "The complete corpses were...always incomplete. But the ones that are missing something? Completed. At least most of them. I've seen some cases where this isn't the case. But usually, that's the pattern that follows."

"What kind of words...?" Rapsheeba asked, sounding very afraid, as she should.

"They would seem so random. Every day items, or names even. Locations. Every time that it happens, we of Scrapbook City fear for our lives. If the completed word resulted in such mutilation..." The mayor could not help but shudder, his mind spinning. "Then what would happen if we...use that word wrong? We end up trying to avoid it like the plague until we are certain we are safe." He put his hand to himself. " _My own name_... I had to abandon it cause it was on one of those corpses. I did not want to end up like the corpse... So I changed my name."

"And if 'Darling' is ever used...?" Penny asked nervously.

"Then I would change it."

The trio didn't respond. They were just looking at each other with levels of horror etched on their faces. It was clear that he had managed to describe in vivid detail what was going on. Now they have an understanding of what had happened here. Now they know exactly where he was coming from. The only thing left to do now was just wait for their response.

Darling hoped that the two humans could help him understand this. He hoped that they knew some way to stop it from happening. He hoped and prayed that, by confiding in them, he had made the right choice and that everything would improve from this point forward.

But first, he needed their answer. So he stood in silence and just waited.

sss

Rudy could feel his heart beating a million miles an hour. He could feel sweat pouring down his face as he began to hyperventilate. He tried to wipe his brow, but more sweat came, making his face constantly slick with wetness. He tried to speak. He tried to say anything. But his voice was caught in his throat and there was nothing that he could do to change that. It was like he was fighting against an inescapable destiny.

He wanted to believe that what he heard wasn't true. He wanted to believe that he was overreacting to this. He wanted to believe that he had heard wrong, that it was not what he thought it was. There had to be some kind of a misunderstanding. There just had to be...

But the more he thought about it, the more that he realized that... _no_ , he did comprehend this right. There was nothing else that it could be. The similarities were just...far too striking to just be a coincidence. No matter how hard he wished it to be untrue, he couldn't escape the reality of the situation. He gritted his teeth tightly and struggled to keep his headache from spreading, struggled to keep his stomach as calm as possible. But it truly did seem like he didn't have much of a chance at this; the reality was just far too horrifying, far too heavy upon his shoulders. He had to accept the horrible truth.

He knew exactly what this zoner had been talking about. He wished that it wasn't true, but he knew that it was. He looked over at Penny, seeing how frightened she was at this reveal. Rapsheeba was more confused than anything, but still scared. She didn't really understand the full implications of what they were talking about. She didn't know that he and Penny knew what Darling had described. And it was nothing good.

What this zoner had described... It sounded _way too much_ like a game that was all too familiar to him and Penny. In fact, they had played it themselves before. They had thought nothing of it. It had only been a fun, harmless game. Children around the world played it.

But as he thought of the implications of this, as he really thought about what Darling told them, the more that the realization that he and others had enjoyed this game made him feel sicker and sicker. He rubbed his stomach gently, feeling his mind spin even harder. He found it difficult to accept the reality that was given to them. He wanted to lay down and throw up, release his stomach's contents, and try to relax a little. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare. But there was nothing to wake up to. He knew that he was awake. Sometimes reality was the worst nightmare.

He couldn't help but glance over at Penny, seeing her expression. He could tell that she felt just as horrible about this as he did. He thought he could see a few tears forming in her eyes. Rudy felt compelled to wipe them, but he couldn't bring himself to move. He could only just stare at her in sympathy. He realized that, even if they got out of this, it would take him a long time for them to accept the harsh reality they had been given.

Rudy wished he had realized the truth sooner. He should have known better. He had been in ChalkZone many times. He had interacted with its people. He had made friends here. He had spoken to Biclops, who explained the principles. Even Snap had helped him out with learning about the place. Rudy knew how it functioned.

So if that were the case, then why the fuck had he never realized just how _dangerous_ the game of Hangman truly was...?

Rudy flinched. Even the very name was foreboding. He could feel bile rising up inside of his mouth. He swallowed hard, feeling his heart pounding heavily inside of his chest. He looked over at Penny and Rapsheeba once more. He felt his breathing increase despite his efforts to keep calm. He focused on Rapsheeba. He wondered how she would look at him and Penny when she learns the truth. How would any zoner feel, actually? How would they react to finding out that the whole 'corpses falling out of the sky' were a part of some children's game?

Rudy tightened his hand into a fist, shaking it slightly. He tried to keep his reaction to himself. He tried not to let Darling or Rapsheeba see it. But he was not fooling Penny. She could tell how he was feeling. She knew him too well. He ripped his eyes away from her and looked away, making himself look like he was thinking. He was, but probably not what the zoners thought he was.

 _Oh gawd_... How in the world did he not realize just how sickening Hangman was? How did he not see the horrific implications that game had? It involved a fucking dying body, for crying out loud. The game involved the flat out murder of a stick figure zoner. It was almost always drawn on a chalkboard. They were toying with lives here. They were creating a zoner for the purpose of dying for some stupid word. And what made it worse? The fact that a stick figure was not even needed. They could have just done a banana or a pumpkin, and still achieve the same result.

And yet for whatever reason, dead stick figures were always the choice...

Rudy had to cover his mouth and brace himself to avoid gagging all over the ground. He found it difficult to control himself. He found it hard to accept what he and other people had been doing. To think that he had been messing around with people's lives... He and others had been producing dead or dying people in a world of sentient denizens, focused on one group entirely, and horribly scarred them. He... He had no idea if he would ever forgive himself...

What was he and Penny going to tell Darling? How were they going to explain this to him? He deserved to know. They couldn't just hide this information from him. Even if hiding the truth would help him mentally, it would...still not be a good choice. Darling has been clearly haunted by this, along with his people of Scrapbook City. If they didn't tell him what happened, then how would he react when he did find out later? How would he feel about them? Was it not better to just tell him themselves? Regardless of how hard it was going to be, he did need to hear the truth.

Darling noticed their expressions. He grew nervous, rubbing his hands together. He waited for a few moments, obviously thinking that they were going to reply right away. But when the were still quiet, he spoke up.

"W-Well..?" Darling asked, licking his lips nervously. "D-Do you know what this is...? Do you know what's going on...? Please, tell me..."

Rudy and Penny glanced at each other. They exchanged worried looks and frowns of uncertainty. There was no easy way to say this. No matter how they looked at it, they were still dealing with a very sensitive topic. The only thing that they could do was just...be honest and hope for the best. They needed to get this over with as soon as possible.

Rudy decided he was the one who should speak. He looked back at the confused and frightened zoner, sucking lightly on his lip. He could feel his heart's beats getting so loud that he thought they were explosions. He forced his mouth open, and he could see the mayor zoner leaning forward, eager and scared to hear what he had to say. Finally, with one more mental push, Rudy finally began talking, his voice a little weakened from his emotions.

"I-It's a game..." Rudy managed to squeak out.

Darling froze, his body becoming slightly loose. "A _game...?_ " He repeated, as though he didn't think he heard right.

Rudy nodded his head. He averted gaze with the zoner as shame filled up inside of him. "That's r-r-right.. A game... It's called Hangman." He looked over at Darling with one eye and he flinched when he saw the look on his face. He continued in a shaky voice, "It's a word guessing game... The... The goal of the game i-i-is to guess what word someone has ch-chosen and... If they get it wrong...more of the word is formed..." He stopped, finding it hard to continue.

However, Penny picked up. "To make it...clear..." She rubbed her hand together nervously. "The premise of the game is that...one person is chosen and they pick a word... They draw the beginning of the..." She swallowed hard as she choked out, "...stick...figure..." She took in a few heavy pants, her tongue hanging out as though she had swallowed something toxic. "...and the people playing the game guess. The more right guesses, the more the word is formed. But a wrong guess results in more of the stick figure being drawn and... when the stick figure is fully drawn, the people lose the game..."

When Darling still didn't respond after several moments, Rudy took a step closer to the bars, almost banging up against them. "I assure you... We don't... I-I mean... It's _not_ a malicious game. We... They didn't know that it..." He put his hands to his face as he lowered his head. "Oh _gawd_... W-We're _so_ sorry..."

Rudy couldn't stop himself from crying. He kept his hands against his face, kept his vision concealed as he just kept crying like this. He could feel his tears moving down his face as he sucked in shaky breath after shaky breath. He couldn't tell if Penny was crying, but he knew that she was at least on the verge of doing so. He stayed like this for several moments, whimpering softly, reality coming crashing in against him.

He wished that this wasn't true. He wished so desperately for this to be a dream. He wished for...

But it didn't matter now, did it? He could feel bitterness starting to rise up, aimed right at himself. He couldn't blame anyone but himself. After all, he was the Great Creator, ChalkZone's protector. He knew how ChalkZone worked and yet he still...

It would have been more acceptable if he and Penny were doing Hangman only before they knew about ChalkZone. But that wasn't it... They had been doing it a few times after, and they didn't even stop to think about it. Rudy had slipped up before, like when he insisted on weapons on a robot to be erased into ChalkZone. But this was the most messed up thing that he did. It was just...he was so used to the game, and had such fond memories of it, that it just never occurred to him what happened after it was erased. He felt sick knowing that he had messed up this badly.

He looked back over at Darling, giving him a guilt-ridden expression. He noticed that Darling just seemed to be...frozen. No expression outside of widened eyes. But it was clear that his mind's gears were turning. He was going to reply eventually. Rudy knew that it wasn't going to be anything good. He braced for the impact that he knew was going to happen.

Slowly but surely, Darling began to adopt a different stance and expression. His teeth became clenched. His eyes were becoming narrowed. He adopted a slightly more hostile stance, and he trembled, emotions racing through his mind. Rudy and Penny both backed away as Darling glared at them like that. They wanted to turn around and run, but there was nowhere to go to. Rapsheeba tried to ask them what the heck was going on, but neither child could speak. They could only just stare at Darling as they wondered what was going to happen to them.

Soon, the silence was broken.

" _Game?! You mean to tell me that we all suffered, all been haunted, by what was essentially a game?!_ "

Rudy's breathing quickened as he said, "We didn't..."

Darling cut him off. "What kind of _sick_ person would come up with a disgusting game like that?! Why would you build a game around killing someone just for something so stupid?! _You_..." Darling gripped the sides of his head, gritting his teeth tighter as he struggled to breathe. His chest inflated and deflated rapidly. "Of all the... I thought Skrawl was deplorable, but _you...?_ Your kind are just... You're no saviors... You're _monsters!_ "

"No! Please.. We weren't trying to..." Penny pleaded as she gripped the bars of the cage tightly. "You have to believe us! W-We would never...!"

"Why the fuck should I believe you?!" Shouted Darling. "Do you have any idea what I have experienced?! What others have?! Tell me, what reason do I have to trust _either of you?!_ For all I know, you're just waiting until the right moment before you decide to kill me for your sick little amusement!"

Rudy, Penny, and Rapsheeba felt raw terror going through their minds. Rapsheeba, mostly due to confusion of the situation. Rudy and Penny, because they both knew exactly what this zoner was going on about and they knew that they didn't really have much of an excuse to give. They could not really dismiss the actions of anyone playing Hangman. And saying that it was just a game for fun did not fly well with Darling.

Darling huffed and puffed, looking as though he was trying so hard to control himself. But it was clear that he just could not relax. His growls became heavy in the air, each one feeling like it was stabbing Rudy in the heart again and again. And the way that those eyes seemed to glare into his very soul... Rudy couldn't even try to look away, lest those razor eyes cut through the back of his skull as well.

"Well... at least there's one good thing to come out of this..."

Rudy and the others flinched at how deep and growly Darling's voice had become. There was a hint of a raspy sound, as though he had finished crying and was trying to speak with a dried up throat.

Darling straightened himself up, his lip curled up into a snarl. "At least I know know what to do with you..." Darling raised up his hand and he made a slashing motion with one of his fingers against his throat.

Rapsheeba gasped in horror. "No... you can't...!"

Penny called out, "Please... listen to us!"

"We aren't your enemies!" Shouted Rudy.

But Darling ignored them completely. "I will leave you here for now. But when I return, I will have you all taken to the execution room." His eyes narrowed into slits. "You will be held accountable for your deplorable actions, as well as for the others who played this disgusting 'Hangman' game, since they cannot be arrested."

"You're making a big mistake!"

"Please think about this!"

"Let us explain!"

But it was too late. It would seem that Darling made up his mind. He turned his back to them, waving his hand dismissively at them. His rage became his current aura, encircling him like a snake around its prey. "Enjoy your final hours..." He said as he began to walk away, leaving the trio all alone in their quiet desperateness.


	21. Which One To Choose

"You've got it all wrong! _Please_...let us explain!"

"Don't just walk away! Come back! Let's talk!"

"You can't do this! You just don't understand! Get back here!"

But try as they might, they just could not get Darling to come back. The mayor stick figure zoner had already made up his made, clearly. There was nothing that they could do to deter him from doing this. He already knew exactly what he felt about them and what should be done. There was nothing more that they could do except just watch him walk away from them as if they were nothing.

They couldn't help but glance at each other as they were left alone in here. They could feel their hearts racing against their chest, pounding heavily off the walls all around them. They could feel the weight of everything just pushing down on them relentlessly like a cinder block that was being lowered. And no matter what they tried, they just could not shake it off. Everything just became stiff and time was no longer recognizable to them. It was just one big blur and everything stood still.

They became chillingly aware of the fate that lay before them. They heard what Darling had said. They knew that they didn't have much time left remaining. If they wanted to live, if they wanted to have any sort of change of getting out of there, they needed to find a way to break themselves free. They needed to leave this place and get out of here as soon as possible. Biclops was right; this was not the best place to go.

But there was no time to feel guilt. Rudy knew that he and the others wouldn't make any progress if they did little more than just sit around, complaining and crying out in fear of what was to happen. And they definitely couldn't get out if they paid too much attention to the whole 'if only we did that' shtick. They needed a plan.

 _But_...just _how_ were they going to do that..? They had absolutely no way out of here. Rudy was not an idiot. These bars were not big enough to squeeze through or bend or break. None of them were particularly that strong. And he could not try to hope to draw anything; how would he be able to without any magic chalk? If only they had stopped by Biclops's place sooner... Now it was too late and now they were trapped here for who knows how long before the zoner would return, ready to kill them.

 _Kill_... Rudy swallowed hard as he let that word hover over his mind. This was not the first time a zoner tried to kill him, although such a thing was still pretty rare. But it was the first time that it had more weight to it than just being one-sided. After all, he and Penny both had participated in this killing, whether they liked it or not.

Rudy thought back to all those zoners that they had killed. He recalled in excruciating detail how he had played the game. He recalled not really caring too much; it was all so nonchalant, so without care. He hadn't stopped to think about the stick figure. He didn't stop to wonder how the zoners in ChalkZone were afflicted. He just cared about the game. A game that was about killing someone for some stupid word... Rudy flinched at this. He wasn't sure if he was ever going to let himself live this down.

There was nothing that he could do to change this, however. He couldn't go back in time and stop himself from playing the game, no matter how guilt-ridden he got about it. The only thing he could do now was either try to escape, or plead with Darling to let them go.

Not that he would. Rudy had his doubts that he would be convinced now. Darling, at first, seemed to have wanted to offer them help, or at least be cooperative. He must have been believing that they could stop this from happening. He probably thought that he was paving the way for improved life for his people in Scrapbook City. This realization hit Rudy in his gut hard, causing a bitter taste to spread all through his mouth. It was this dawning realization that caused something to click in his mind.

Darling must have felt betrayed. And why wouldn't he? He probably had seen Rudy as some great savior of ChalkZone. But now he knew that Rudy's 'kind', his species, the ones that could use the magic chalk, they were the ones who had caused this for a game. Darling now knew that Hangman was just a 'children's game', something done for fun. And that must have really been a major blow to his psyche, especially when he probably made the connection that both Rudy and Penny had played this game as well. Darling must think that humans are sociopathic bastards who relished in tormenting others in rather gruesome ways. Darling must believe that creators don't really care about the well being of anyone else, and thus they aren't trustworthy.

Rudy realized, with a heavy heart, that he had just given Darling a reason to go after all creators should he have the power to do so. Oh no... It was worse than that... As his heart skipped several beats, he realized that it was not just Darling... Those stick figures, the Razorskulls.. If they heard about this, they would use it as further justification. They already believed that their creators were purposefully being jackasses to them. Now they had another reason to believe that.

No doubt Darling was going to ally himself with them. Not just him, but his entire city. Darling was now more than likely convinced that the Razorskulls were correct and no longer consider them rebels. Maybe it would not happen. Maybe it was just being paranoid. But there was nothing stopping Rudy from thinking that Darling would ally his entire city with the Razorskulls, aiding them in their conquest to make all creators pay. If they ever found a way into the Real World...

It was true that some of them would be knocked back. Real World water would erase them easily, and if it's raining, forget about it. But some of them would still make it. Some of them would still be able to land some kind of a blow. Some of them would be able to get their hands on some innocent human and do all kinds of terrible things to them.

And Rudy could not blame anybody but himself for that. This was all his fault. _If only he had..._

He should have just lied. He should have said something different. As disgusting as he'd feel afterwards, he should have lied. At least then, Darling would be an ally still and they would not have to worry about what an entire city of scarred, pissed off stick figures would do. At least they could have managed to hang onto them and convince them that they would help them out. The only thing the truth gave them in this case was more enemies, an inescapable prison, and looming death.

 _Oh gawd... what were they going to do now...?_

Rudy put his back to the wall, feeling the urge to just slide down. The muscles in his legs felt incredibly weak. He was surprised that he was still standing. As he leaned against the wall, he turned his head to look at the others, biting his lip firmly. Seeing his friends like this did not make him feel any better. And he couldn't stop blaming himself for this.

Rapsheeba looked like an absolute mess. She still didn't seem to fully grasp this Hangman game, but what she did know was that they were about to be executed. She was crying and pleading to nothingness to get out. She must be having horrible flashbacks of what had been done to her, and Rudy couldn't help but wince at how she was looking at him and Penny. He could not tell if she was blaming them for this or not. But if she were, he would not really blame her for it.

Penny was doing her best to cheer her up. But the girl couldn't think of what to say. That really hit Rudy in the heart right there. If Penny could not think of what to say... He growled as he turned his head away, feeling his stomach churning. He could hear Penny continue to whisper soft words of comfort to Rapsheeba, but they were devoid of any strong meaning. There was not anything any of them could do. They were trapped and nothing would change that. Not unless some blooming miracle came and...

But weren't they giving up a little too easily? Shouldn't they at least...try? Rudy glanced at the bars before him, his eyes moving along them carefully. He hadn't really tried to do anything with them. He had not tried pulling the bars apart. He had not tried to push or yank the bars or anything like that. Sure he could not squeeze through them, but what if he...

That was just getting his hopes up too high. It was going to be nothing more than a huge waste of time. If he and Penny tried anything, they would not...

...but what of Rapsheeba? Would she fit?

Rudy glanced down at the zoner, staring at her, studying her carefully. He wondered... Would she be able to something? It seemed unlikely at first. He wondered if he was just being too hopeful, too unrealistic, too desperate to get out of here. What if this was all just a huge waste of time?

And yet... She did seem thin enough. She did seem like she would fit through if she tried. Maybe if he and Penny helped her through, they...

Or what if he was just being too optimistic again? What if he was just trying to...

Rudy shook the thought out of his head, feeling his stomach sink. He was just making things more difficult than they had to be. This wasn't like him. He didn't give up this easily. He and his friends always found a way out of sticky situations. This was not a completely hopeless situation. They had some time to figure out a plan. They still had time to get out of here. He needed to stop being so down in the dumps, fight against this pessimism, and find a way out of here.

Without another thought to himself, he pushed himself away from the wall and started to make his way over slowly. He watched and listened as Penny just managed to calm down Rapsheeba. His shadow casted over them, causing the two to freeze and look up at him. They looked startled for a moment before recognizing Rudy. They each let out a sigh, relaxing their tensed up bodies. Rudy felt some guilt at scaring them, but that didn't stop him from keeping his eyes narrowed at them, focusing mostly on Rapsheeba.

"Rudy, was it it?" Penny asked. "Why are you looking at Rapsheeba like that?"

"Yeah, man... I don't like it..." Rapsheeba admitted.

Rudy turned his head slightly, one eye on Rapsheeba, the corner of his other one noticing just the bare minimum of the bars, their shape and just slightly, their color. He got straight to the point. "Do you think you can try squeezing through the bars..?"

Rapsheeba blinked at this. "What? You want me to...?" She looked over at the bars, licking her lips rapidly. "Rudy, there's no way that I could..."

"Can you at least try?" Rudy cut her off, sounding a bit more firm than he had intended.

" _I._.."

"Please, can't you at least try?" Rudy felt his fingers arching a little, tension filling him up inside. "We don't have a lot of options... Please try."

Rapsheeba spent a few moments just staring at Rudy, looking unsure of how to react to this. Penny was also looking at Rudy, her eyebrows cocked, looking very confused. The two of them looked like they really wanted some answers, and were silently asking questions. Rudy, however, just looked back at them, his attention mostly focused on Rapsheeba, and just waited.

After what felt like several long moments, Rapsheeba finally decided to do something. Although still looking clearly confused, she made her way over towards the bars. She stopped in front of them, her hands on her hips, and looked at them up and down. After examining them for a short time, she looked over her shoulder and looked back at Rudy.

"I don't think I'd fit through."

Rudy gritted his teeth. "Oh come on..." He tensed his fingers up as he moved his hands down in a sweeping motion. "You haven't even tried! Just.. try to get through! Make the effort!"

"Rudy..." Penny moved in close, putting her hand on his shoulder. "If she says she can't do it, then..."

Rudy jerked his shoulder away and glared at Penny. The girl was taken a back, taking one small step away from him. Rudy was not about to let Penny deter him from trying what could be their only option left. If he turned out to be wrong, then okay. He would admit it. But he would only do that after an attempt was made. He looked back at Rapsheeba and, his eyes narrowing a little further, determination washing over his face, he nodded his head curtly. He stood there and waited for her to try.

Rapsheeba bit her lip as she looked back at the bars. She moved in closer, reaching out and grabbing them with her hand. She appeared to try to stretch them out a little. No surprise that it didn't work. Rudy growled at this. Was she purposely trying to delay this? All she had to do was just try to push her way through the spaces. How fucking difficult could that be?

Apparently quite, considering Rapsheeba was still pacing back and forth after a few minutes, trying to figure this out. She hadn't even tried to move her arm between the bars; she just stood there and stared, as if nothing was coming to her mind. It was enough to make Rudy grit the sides of his head nearly to the point of bleeding. He couldn't believe how slow Rapsheeba was being. What the heck was she afraid of? She had seen him grab the bars before, right? What the fuck could possibly happen?

It seemed to take forever longer before Rapsheeba even tried to go through the bars. She put her arm through slowly and she got up to where her arm was fully out... only to move back in quickly, holding her arm to herself. She bared her teeth nervously as she looked down the hallway, her eyes darting left and right.

"Oh come on...! What kind of an attempt was that?!" Rudy snarled.

Penny shot him a glare. "Don't push her so hard, Rudy."

Rudy glared right back at her. "Need I remind you that we don't have much time left? We can't just..." He raised his hands up, fingers bent almost like claws. For a brief moment, he almost felt like slashing something like he were a wild animal. It took him a while before he could settle himself down, preventing himself from going too crazy. But the energy was still there and it needed a way to exit out of him. "We have to get the fuck out of here! If we wait around for her to try to go through the bars, then we will die!"

Rudy panted a few times, trying to settle himself down. He had not meant to yell that loudly. He did not mean to sound so...so... He wasn't sure what term to use. He just knew that he might have laid it a little too thick there. And judging from the expressions the others were giving him, he might have thought correctly. Penny was glaring harshly at him while Rapsheeba was rubbing her arm and looking away, looking as though she were ashamed of herself.

A part of Rudy wanted to apologize. He wanted to let them know that he was just being desperate. They didn't know when Darling would be back and he knew that when they were, they would stand little chance of escape. And yet at the same time, his determination and focus to leave overridden his logical side. The only thing he could think of doing, fueled by tension and fear, was just getting out as soon as possible. And if that meant being a little harsher than usual, then so be it.

Rudy did not wait for another answer. He did not wait for them to reply. He was tired of just standing there, doing nothing. The only thing that he cared about was just getting out of here by any means necessary. Since Rapsheeba seemed a little hesitant in trying to leave, then he would just have to offer some help.

A low growl escaping his mouth, Rudy made his way over towards Rapsheeba. He ignored Penny's statements for him to stop. He ignored Rapsheeba's questioning cries. He just went over to her, his hands tightened in fists, his mind filled to the brim with grim thoughts of what could happen to them if he did not do this. He soon had her cornered, the singer zoner backed up against the bars, nearly hyperventilating. Her fear-filled face did not trigger anything from him. He was far too caught up in his determination to take note of what she was doing. Then, finally, he grabbed onto her.

"R-Rudy...! What are you _doing?!_ " Rapsheeba cried out in horror. She instinctively struggled. "U-Unhand me...!"

Before Rudy realized what he was doing, he lifted Rapsheeba up from the ground and then thrusted her against the area between the two closest bars. He managed to get her partially through, but she was still not in all the way. She still had about half to go, and then her head. He let go of her so he could reposition himself. He lifted up his foot and, despite Rapsheeba's pleas for him to stop, he pushed his foot against her body, practically kicking her further out.

Now only her head remained. Rudy narrowed his eyes as he grabbed onto it roughly. He tried to push on it as hard as he could, trying to force it through. He could hear Rapsheeba's repeated cries of pain, but he paid no attention to them. He had to get this darn head through. After that, Rapsheeba could...

"Rudy! Stop it right now! Let her go! Don't you see what you're doing?!"

Rudy jerked at the sudden shout from Penny. He had never heard her screech that loudly before. He turned his head just in time to see Penny rushing at him. She grabbed onto him and started to push him away. He instinctively tried to fight back. Penny's higher strength prevailed and she soon found himself on the ground, groaning a little in pain. He looked up at Penny, his mouth open and eyes narrowed as he was about to ask what she was doing. But she beat him to the punch.

"What is with you?! This isn't like you! Look at what you've done to poor Rapsheeba!" Penny motioned her hand towards the singer zoner.

When Rudy looked over, that was the first time in the past several minutes that he really, really began to notice what Rapsheeba was doing. He took notice of how she was still only in the cage by her head, the rest of her body out. He noticed her scared facial expressions, the tears staining her cheeks, the low sobs and whimpers that were coming out of her mouth. He could see she was trembling as she was trying to get her head unstuck, but no matter what she did, she just could not get free. She was trapped like that.

Slowly, Rudy's facial expression softened up, becoming loose for a moment before horror began to wash over his face. He listened to Rapsheeba's crying and he stared at her predicament. The one that he had pushed her into. He took in a few rapid breaths as the realization dawned upon him and he could feel his blood running cold. His own body began to shake, his hands tingling, his mind racing.

"I-I didn't...I mean..." He swallowed hard, his eyes bulging wider than they ever did before. "Oh my gawd.. R-R-Rapsheeba.. I'm... I'm _so sorry_. I didn't mean to... I never wanted to..." He closed his eyes and took a step back. He turned his head to the side. "I'm so very sorry."

Penny marched towards him, her body tense. The very air around her was... Rudy moved back a little more when she got too close. With her body straightened up, as though trying to make herself look taller, she growled, "Just what the heck did you think you were doing?!"

"I-I.." Rudy tried to say.

"That's right! You weren't thinking!" Penny pointed accusingly at him. Rudy flinched and he tried to turn himself away and head towards Rapsheeba. Immediately, Penny got in front of him, blocking his path. Rudy nearly jumped and he took a few steps back from her, staring at her with widened eyes. She bared her teeth and growled at him, "Don't bother. I'll take care of her."

Rudy didn't say anything as he watched Penny head on over to Rapsheeba to help her out. Rudy didn't say a word. What could he say? He understood why she was upset. He felt disgusted with himself. He didn't bother trying to do anything about it. He allowed himself to become entangled with his nausea as he slipped to the ground, to horrified by his own actions to do anything at that point.

Oh gawd, Rapsheeba... What the hell had he done to her...? How could he do that to her...? How could he treat her that way..? He bit his lip firmly, almost breaking his own skin. He could feel hot tears forming in his eyes as he stared down at his trembling hands. Had he really just... He was just desperate... Wanting to get out. Was that wrong? Well he still ended up hurting one of his friends and...

"Oh no... Oh my gawd..." Rudy whispered in a low voice. He put his hands to his face and trembled harder. " _Oh gawd no_..." He became silent, and soon the room was filled with Rapsheeba's crying, Penny's reassurance, and had the echoes of Rudy's own guilt.

sss

Randar peered over the corner of the hallway. His eyes darted left and right as he tried to see if there was anybody coming through, if anyone was looking this way or not. He was able to see a group of zoners standing around, discussing things amongst each other. Slowly, Randar moved in closer, turning his head to the side so that he could hear what was being said.

"I can't believe they did such a thing."

"I _knew_ that brat couldn't be trusted!"

"Settle down. Darling knows what to do."

"Yeah, he'll make it better."

Randar narrowed his eyes at this. They must be referring to the human hostages. He had caught wind of it just a few minutes ago. He and his comrades were just sitting down, having a nice drink, when the announcement came over the intercom system. Apparently Darling wanted to execute these humans and their zoner buddy on accusations of attempted murder or something like that. He didn't know for sure if this was the case or not. But he did know that, as silly as Darling could be at times, he would not joke about this.

Randar gritted his teeth tightly, trying to keep himself from from rushing over and demanding more information. He didn't want to get himself into trouble. And he didn't want to make such a commotion that his pals find out. They probably would not appreciate what he was doing. They were busy talking with their families and expressing fear and horror. Which was understandable, given the situation. But as for Randar himself? He had a different view that he was certain others were not going to like.

He could hear the zoners talking more. Their voices were so filled with emotion. Anger, hate, fear, sorrow... They were all there, and they weren't getting any weaker, no matter what they would try. This just made him form a tighter fist with his hand, feeling even more determined than ever to succeed.

"So what does Darling want us to do?"

"He will prepare things. Then he wants us to help him bring those monsters to the execution room."

Randar widened his eyes at this. The execution room? That place? Was Darling really going to... He shook the thought out of his mind. He shouldn't be surprised. That guy had gotten some level of paranoia in him lately. He had seen one too many dead bodies and he was getting desperate. If he were allowed to continue, he would more than likely go through with this.

That is...unless he himself intervened.

It was going to be a risky thing. He knew what would happen if he were to get caught. He knew that if he slipped up just once, he could end up in that execution room as well. But he was not going to just sit here and take this. He had enough of these zoner's attitudes about this and he wanted it to stop. There was no reason to kill those humans. Even if they had something to do with the dead bodies, he was certain that it was just circumstantial. He would rather ask them than just take the word of his paranoid leader.

But if he was going to do anything, if he was going to have a chance at this, he was going to need to act quickly. There was not much time left. He knew that Darling would want to get this done quickly, but at the same time, he also knew that Darling would want this to be public. So he would delay things as he sets it all up. While the mayor did that, he could take this chance to go find those three and get them out of here. Perhaps even talk to them if it were at all possible.

Perhaps he should consider this for a moment. Perhaps he should stop and think about what he was about to do first. It might be a good idea if...

No, there was no time. If he didn't do something now, then it was going to be way too late to do anything. He needed to get those people out pronto. He just...didn't know how he was going to do it. He had to think of something and fast. Would anyone help him? He had his doubts. He did not think anybody in this city trusted those three. They would rather see them captured and dealt with. But surely there was some way to...

 _Hmm_... that just might work. He was well aware that there was something else to this city that he knew, but not a lot of people did. Something that just might give those three an edge in surviving this. If he could get them out, then he just might be able to lead them there and they could escape. He just had to be quick about it so that no one figured out what he knew. If word got out, then those three could be chased down and he himself would be charged with treason. He was taking a huge risk for these people that he didn't even know.

But it was all in the name of trying to help his city. He was trying to stop a horrible mistake from being done. He wanted this senseless violence to stop. He wanted the city to wake up and realize just how terrible Darling has been lately. He has made poor choices that were either on one end of an extreme.

His first plan? Pretend everything was all right and be happy.

And now this plan? Kill off these three without a fair trial.

It was all so disgusting. Radar could not believe that anybody would elect somebody like him as mayor. It made him grit his teeth, his blood burning, that anyone thought it was a good idea to let him continue to run this place. Did they not see what they were doing? Did they not see what they were allowing?

Apparently not. If they did see this guy for how disgusting he really was, they wouldn't have let this happen for so long. They would have done something. They would have ejected this guy out of here. They would have made sure that he couldn't make another big decision again. They needed a better leader for this place. But...he had no idea who. The only thing that he could do right now is just...

He looked down the tunnel once more, narrowing his eyes deeply. He knew that those guys were down there somewhere. He knew that if he took this tunnel and made all the correct turns, that he would find them. Once he did, he would get them out. Then he would expose Darling for the fraud that he truly was. This nonsense was going to end here and now. He was tired of this bullshit.

But he needed a way to get them out. How was he going to do that? He needed some kind of a key. Without that, then there was little way that he could help them escape.

He narrowed his eyes. He would find a way.

 _Somehow._

sss

Penny had no idea how much time had passed since that incident had occurred. And right now, she did not really care. She was focusing on doing what she could to help out Rapsheeba. The poor zoner was quite scared and frightened. And why wouldn't she be? Rudy had gone too far.

Penny gritted her teeth and tried to shake off her anger towards Rudy. She wouldn't do herself any favors if she tried anything with Rapsheeba while she was furious. Oh gawd, that would be quite the disaster. She bit her lip as she looked at this situation up and down, examining it from every angle that she could think of. And the more she looked at it, the more she realized that...yeah this was definitely going to be a problem. How was she going to get Rapsheeba out of this?

She at least managed to calm her down, so that was good. Rapsheeba was wriggling around way too much and that was only going to get her more stuck and that's not what Penny wanted. Oh gawd no. She didn't want Rapsheeba to hurt herself. It would be even worse if she accidentally choked herself or broke her neck or something. Penny didn't know if she would be able to forgive herself if that happened.

And she wasn't sure if she could forgive Rudy so quickly. She couldn't believe just how angry and forceful he had become. This was not like him at all. She would not be surprised if he was just as shocked as she was. But that did not mean that she was any less angry about this. Rudy should have known better. Rapsheeba was pleading with him to stop. Did he not hear her? Was he really so...

 _Grr_... She didn't have time for that anyway. She needed to try harder on figuring out how to help Rapsheeba get her head unstuck from here. She looked all around once more, trying to get an idea of the situation.

Rapsheeba's body was fully out. But her head was still stuck. It was wedged in pretty good, and with the way that it was, it would be very difficult to push her the rest of the way out and even pulling her back in. Penny could feel her heart twisting at this realization. Poor Rapsheeba... It was horrible that something like this had to happen to her. She had already been through so much and...

Well she was going to get her out somehow. There had to be a way to...

She suddenly froze, her eyes widening up. She felt as though she had been struck in the face with a brick as a realization came to her. She could not believe that she hadn't thought of this sooner. She could feel her mouth wetting already as she stared at the bars, the thoughts dominating her mind. That was right. She could...

Penny leaned forward, trying to act now before her mouth became too dry. She gripped into the bars tightly for balance and she began to use her tongue to slowly lick away at the bar. At first, there didn't seem to be any results other than Rapsheeba whimpering and trying to move away, and there was some steam rising up. Well that explained the wriggling. Penny kept on going though, hopeful that something would come about this.

And her patience turned out to be worth it. As she licked the bar, more and more of it began to be eaten away by her saliva. It was not as efficient as, say, water. But it was still something, and continuing to do this yielded more and more results. The bar was gradually growing thinner, losing its thickness and strength. As she was able to move further away from Rapsheeba, Penny began to lick harder and faster, trying to speed up the process a little.

And then, finally, the bar broke. It clanged against the ground, and it took a few seconds before she and Raspheeba realize what had happened. They just stared at one another in shock before Rapsheeba even tried to move her head. Slowly, but surely, Rapsheeba pulled back away, signs of relief etched all over her face.

"It... It worked..." Rapsheeba whispered softly. She moved her hands all over her head, massaging it and pushing at it at different angles gently, as though making sure that she really was free. "It really worked..." She looked at Penny, her eyes twinkling with delight and relief. "Thank you..."

"You're quite..." Penny was taken aback when the zoner suddenly latched onto her tightly. Penny remained frozen for a while before she moved her arms around her and pulled her close. "..welcome."

She stayed like this for a while, holding onto Rapsheeba. She didn't try to say anything else. There was no need right now. She just wanted to cradle her and reassure her that it was all fine and good now. She could feel the zoner still trembling against her, serving as a reminder that Rapsheeba was still mentally damaged from all of this, so scared and frightened. It would take a while before she would calm down completely.

But the good news was she was safe now. She was no longer stuck. She was no longer trapped here against her will. She was free.

 _...wait a minute..._

 _Rapsheeba was free..._

Penny pulled back away from Rapsheeba to take a good look around. Rapsheeba raised an eyebrow, confused by all of Penny's maneuvering around, like she was trying to see something. Rapsheeba's small voice filled her ears, but Penny did not react just yet. She was too busy fully realizing the situation they had on their hands now.

Rapsheeba was out of the cage... And if she's out of the cage, then that meant that...

"Rapsheeba, you have to go find help!" Penny cried out.

"Wh-What..?" Asked a perplexed Rapsheeba. "Wh-Why do you want me to..."

"There isn't much time! Just go now, _please!_ "

"But there's no reason to..." Rapsheeba started to say.

Penny stared at the zoner in shock, unable to believe what she just heard. "What do you mean there's nothing to..." Penny tried not to do what Rudy did. She tried her best not to lose her cool and get too desperate. She pointed out behind Rapsheeba, jerking her hand, hoping that the female zoner would get the point. "You're free now! Why aren't you running for help?"

"Well because..." Rapsheeba looked over at the tunnel before slowly turning back and staring at Penny. "You're free, too."

"No I'm..." Penny suddenly froze as she took a moment to look around. It took a while before it dawned on her. But then it clicked in her head and she took in a sharp gasp as she finally realized that Rapsheeba was correct.

They were all free.

Penny couldn't believe that she had been so focused on getting Rapsheeba to find some help that she had failed to notice the fact that the removal of one bar had made an opening wide enough for even her and Rudy to fit through. She stared at the opening, blinking her eyes slowly, and then started down at Rapsheeba, who smiled back at her, nodding her head. Penny didn't say or do anything for several moments. It was just...all so much to take in at once.

Penny realized that they were free now. She, Rapsheeba, and Rudy could get out of here and flee. They still had time. None of the zoners had started to come back here for them yet. If they run now, they would have a chance to get out.

But where do they run to? That was the question. She didn't know which path they should take. She didn't know which way would lead them to freedom and which way would be a dead end. There was no map here and they could not ask for help. They had only themselves to rely on. She cursed to herself. Why hadn't they tried to get a map earlier? They didn't think to do that apparently and now they were going to pay for it. She refused to believe they were out of options though. She just needed to think harder on this situation. Something would come of this. She just knew it.

She stiffened up when she heard the sound of footsteps beginning to approach. She swung her head over and tried to figure out where it was coming from. She noticed Rapsheeba was looking around as well. The sound came back, more clear than before. Did Rudy hear this too? He must have, though Penny couldn't bring herself to look over her shoulder to find out. So instead she just focused on looking out this way. And slowly, surely, steadily, the sound got louder and louder and louder...

And then she saw the shadow on the wall.

Penny's heart nearly stopped at this. _Oh no_... Someone was already coming.. She remained frozen for a few moments before the situation finally caused her mind's gears to turn. She shook her head once and she felt her feet wobbling. She took in several quick breaths. They had to get out of here. Now.

Penny turned her head to where Rudy was. She was about to say something when she noticed that he hadn't really moved at all. He was still curled up against the corner, and it looked like he didn't even realize there was anything going on. Penny narrowed her eyes at this before marching forward. She reached out and she grabbed onto Rudy's arm firmly.

"Get up, Rudy! We have to get going!"

But there was no response. She hissed softly and she started to pull on him harder. There was no way that she was going to let Rudy get away with feeling sorry for himself right now. This was not a good time for him to be beating himself up over this.

"Rudy, get your ass up!" Penny shouted at him. She saw that he was still not responding, prompting her to grip his shoulders and shake them. "Rudy! Get a move on!" She could hear the footsteps getting closer. She began to pull him harder...

...and then she froze in shock when Rudy just sort of tumbled to the ground. She let out a loud gasp of shock as she jumped back, her heart pounding in her chest. She took a few seconds to register what happened, and she stared at the boy's crumpled body by her feet. He was still not moving, and she only just now noticed that he didn't seem to be breathing right either. All of a sudden, her anger towards him melted away, becoming replaced with pure horror.

"R-Rudy...?" Penny whispered, sounding more gentle than she had before. She reached over and she gently shook him by his shoulder. "Rudy, c-come on now... Wake up..." She gave him another gentle shake, hoping to get some kind of response from him. "Rudy, you have to get up... Come on, please..."

"Wh-What's wrong with him...?" Rapsheeba asked as she approached slowly. "Why isn't he...?"

Penny stared at Rudy's unmoving form for several seconds. She could feel a heaviness weighing down on her shoulders, feeling as though something was going to break. She took in a trembling breath as she shook her head slowly. "I-I don't know.." Her voice cracked as she said this. "I really don't know..."

Penny couldn't stop staring at Rudy, her mind continuing to spin around in circles. She tried to think of what could be wrong with him. It had all happened so suddenly. She didn't know if it related to their argument, his previous fury, if some external force did anything... She just had no fucking clue. The only thing that she was aware of was that someone was rapidly approaching and her best friend was laying on the ground, not moving a muscle. It happened to fast that even now, she had a hard time processing it.

But she had little time to do that. If they just stood around here doing nothing... She lifted her head up and she looked over her shoulder, glaring at the tunnel where the sound was coming from. Well if that guy wanted to get Rudy, they were going to have to go through her first. She was not going to let anything happen to him...or to Rapsheeba either.

Without saying a word, Penny crawled up onto her feet, her eyes narrowed into slits. She glared in that direction for a few moments before she started to move on out. She squeezed through the bars, ignoring Rapsheeba's cries of confusion, asking her what the heck was going on. Penny took a few steps forward in front of her and she stood there firmly, her hands slowly spreading out. She was going to make sure that she was the first person these people saw. And she was going to make sure that they knew that if they were to try to get to her friends, she was going to put up a fight.

As she stood there, she could see the shadows moving along the walls. She stiffened up, sucking in a deep, sharp breath. She tensed her body up, every muscle poised to attack if she had to. She tried to make herself look taller, hoping that this would at least delay an attack, even stop it if she were lucky. She knew that she stood little chance against a whole group of stick figures. But darnit, she was going to give it her all.

Then the shadow seemed to cave into the form of a single person. Penny felt her body loosen up a little. If it were just one person, then maybe she stood some chance against them. _But_... No, she still needed to remain on high alert. She didn't know these stick figures. She didn't know what they were capable of. It was best if she stayed prepared, just in case that...

Soon the figure came into full view. A lone stick figure standing not far away from her. Tired-looking and panting, as though he were running. He was holding some kind of item in his hands, and he was staring right at her. For whatever reason, he froze, stopping in his tracks. He looked at her up and down, and they just...stared at one another. Penny half expected someone to be coming around the corner. But the longer she waited, the more that nothing happened. Was this guy really alone?

Penny stared at the stick figure before her. Just as with the others, there was little variation to him aside from maybe being a little taller and skinnier than the other stick figures she had seen. He also seemed to lack the same level of hostility, although she didn't know if that was supposed to comfort her. He might just be really good at hiding his intentions.

"What the...?" The stick figure was the first one in the area to break the silence. "You mean I didn't have to..."

Penny spoke up, cutting him off. "You're not going to get to them!"

The stick figure seemed a little startled by her shouting. He instantly moved back away from her, his eyes scanning her body up and down as though trying to figure out what was going on. He soon narrowed his eyes and he growled, "So is _this_ the thanks I get for trying to rescue you?!"

"Rescue us...?" Asked Rapsheeba.

" _Yes!_ " The stick figure held up his hand. In it, a key was very clearly visible. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to get this thing?! And to think you didn't even need my help in getting out of that wretched cage.. Ugh..." The stick figure slapped himself in the face and shook his head. He looked rather defeated for a moment, as though he must have run all that way with that much urgency for nothing. Then the stick figure looked over at Penny once more. "Well I suppose there's no use crying about it." He said with a sigh. "We should get going. The others will be here very soon."

Penny couldn't help but glare at the zoner. "Now hold on here... We don't know who you are. How do we know that you're really here to help us out?" She cocked her head to the side, her lip curling upwards in the process, growling deeply. She recalled how they were treated before with such bitterness. She was not going to let this zoner win her trust so easily. "Give us one good reason why we should trust you."

The stick figure stared at her long and hard, his eyes narrowed as well. He didn't look angry. More like just frustrated and wanting to get a move on. The stick figure looked behind him for a moment, probably hearing encroaching footsteps. Then he glared back at her and lowered his head slightly. He gave her a stern upwards glare that she found difficult to turn away from. His next words were few but cutting. "Because I'm the only chance that you've got."

Penny blinked at this, and she soon realized that he was right. That didn't mean that she felt comfortable with this idea. But if this zoner really did come over to help and if he was really going to get them to safety...

Well, this did seem like a better option. It was either stay here and risk getting dragged to their deaths without any hope of escape...

...or she could take the risk and go with this guy. At least with this stick figure zoner, they may stand some chance of getting out of here alive.

"A-All right then... We'll go with you..." Penny said. She narrowed her eyes a little further as she added, "But I'm going to keep an eye on you. One wrong move and..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just hurry it up!" The stick figure zoner sounded a little more urgent than before. He was moving his hands faster as he looked from him to Rapsheeba. "Get your legs moving so we can run! And...where is your other friend? Wasn't there a third person here?"

Penny looked over her shoulders as she stared at where Rudy was. She felt her teeth pressing against her lip, her heart skipping several beats. Rudy still didn't look any better, nor had he moved at all on the ground. For a few moments, she forgot her uncertainties with the stick figure and she could only think of what had happened to Rudy. He was still breathing at least, but it didn't look good still. She wished she knew what was wrong with him. She wished that...

"Well?" The stick figure cut her out of her thoughts. He put one hand on his hip while the other motioned to her. "Is he there or not?"

Penny didn't even try to talk back to the zoner. There was no point to. She couldn't allow herself to become so angry about this, especially when they had something more serious to worry about, and that was getting them all out of here. So instead of replying, Penny turned around and walked back into the cell. She ignored the stick figure's shocked cries at this, likely believing that she was choosing to give up rather than go for a possible escape route.

Penny soon reached Rudy and she reached out and gently touched his face. She caressed it carefully, looking for any sign of movement, anything to indicate that he was still with her. But all she could see was a still, unmoving body that seemed to only be just barely breathing. She closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. Had she caused this? Did she make it worse? Was this all brought on by the stress of the situation? She really hoped that this wasn't the case, but then...it's not like anything was going to make this better. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to know the truth.

She shook her head, snapping back to reality. She realized that she had wasted too much time just staring at Rudy. She also realized that, if he was not going to get up, then she was just going to have to do something to make him move on her own. She was not going to just stand around and waste time trying to awaken what was possibly a seriously injured Rudy. So she lowered herself down, pushed her arms underneath his body, and she lifted him up. Cradling him in her arms, she turned and slowly walked out of the cage.

"It's about time you came out of there..." Growled the stick figure. He motioned quickly with his arm. " _Now come the fuck on!_ "

Penny glared at the zoner, but she said nothing. She knew that he was right. This was no time to just stand around and diddle dally. She would have to save any of her distrust or uncertainty of this particular zoner later. She turned her head and she gave a quick nod to Rapsheeba. Then she returned her head to look in front of her. Without any further hesitation, she, and long with Rapsheeba, began to move quickly down the hallway, following close behind the stick figure zoner.

Penny kept Rudy pressed up against her, looked down at him sadly. She hoped that they would figure out what was wrong with him and soon. She could not bare to see him like this. What if he wouldn't wake up at all...? She shook the thought out of her head. He would wake up. He just needed time.

Yeah, only time...

sss

Snap watched Zibble carefully. He wanted to say something to her. Anything... He wanted her to know how sorry that he was. He wanted her to understand that he had never meant for any of this to happen. But it didn't seem like she was going to listen to him. She was busy keeping her arms folded and keeping her back turned to him, showing no sign or interest in wanting to hear him out.

Though frustrated, it wasn't like Snap could blame her that much for being this angry. He could understand why Zibble would feel so betrayed by him. Just because Blotz was more understanding, that didn't mean that Zibble was going to be the same way.

But he still wished that she would at least try to see things his way. He wished that she would give him more of a chance to explain himself. He wished that she would see that this was not some big grand scheme to betray her. He really did still care about her, and Blotz, and Rapsheeba... He would never truly turn against them. Yet here she was, blaming him like he was a permanent enemy. He bit his lip at this, feeling his stomach churning in his stomach. What evidence did she need to understand that he didn't mean to...

He let out a sigh. It was useless. She was never going to listen. He pushed himself away, flinching at his pain, and leaned up against the wall. He blinked his eyes, oh sorry, eye, slowly, as he contemplated his situation. Trying to shake off the pain was difficult enough, but the biggest wounds were mental.

He remembered what had happened. Thanks to talking to these two, well mostly Blotz, he managed to regain the memories of what had happened before. And he was utterly terrified of what had taken place. He licked his lips slowly, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He still had trouble believing that he had given away information to save his own skin. Granted, he was in a lot of pain and not thinking clearly, and he was still quite firm about not really betraying his friends. It was more... he was forced to do something in order to... He wasn't even sure how to finish that sentence right now.

He flinched when he felt a jolt of pain against his face. He put his hand there, rubbing up and down carefully. He flinched as his damaged eye still stung him horribly. He looked down at his hand. Well at least he was not bleeding anymore. Though that was of little comfort to him. What if he never regained sight in this eye again?

He struggled to push that thought aside for the time being. There was little reason for him to keep dwelling on that matter right now. Especially when he had no idea what was going to happen to them. He didn't know what the stick figure zoners wanted with him, now that they already got the information squeezed and beaten out of him. But what if Zibble and Blotz? Weren't they only put in here temporarily? When would the stick figures come back for them? And what would they do if they keep refusing to talk? He swallowed bitter bile as the thought hovered over his mind.

Well, at least they still had a little bit of time. They might as well use this time to try to think of a way to...

He had spoken too soon. In a matter of moments, the sound of foot falls filled the air.

Snap narrowed his eyes as he turned his head, watching as the stick figure zoners approached slowly. There were at least five of them. Possibly six or seven. It was hard to count at this angle. The stick figures were not look at him. Just as he had feared, it was clear that they were here for Blotz and Zibble.

Blotz had moved closer instinctively to his sibling, or creation-mate, whichever term he happened to use. He took a protective posture in front of her. Zibble, on the other hand, still looked like she was trying to ignore what was going on. But judging from how she was starting to shake, it was made quite clear that she was all too aware of what was going on. She looked absolutely frightened under the shadow of these stick figures.

"Time's up..." Said one of the stick figures. "I hope you two will be more cooperative now. It would be a darn shame if you still refuse to listen."

"G-Go away...! I-I mean it...!" Blotz snarled as he spread his hands outward, trying to block access to Zibble. This did not really have the result that he wanted, given how the stick figures just looked at each other before breaking into a laugh. Blotz growled at this, narrowing his eyes, but he didn't attempt to fight them. He knew that he would lose.

"Ain't this sweet? He's protecting his little girlfriend!" Taunted one of the stick figures.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Shouted Blotz.

The stick figure sneered. "Well she is a girl, right? And she is your friend?" He held his hand up in gesture at this. "That sounds like a 'girlfriend' to me."

Blotz's teeth grinded across one another. "She's my sister!"

If that was going to deter the stick figures from their taunting, Blotz found out the hard way that this was not the case. Instead of backing down, the stick figures made mock shock faces, hands to their mouths and looking at one another. Some of them had sly smiles etched onto their faces. It was enough that Snap wanted to punch them, but he was in too much pain to even think of getting up, let alone try to attack.

" _Oh ho ho!_ So you're into _incest_ , are you?" A third stick figure jeered. "Your friends must be so proud of you!"

" _What...?_ " Blotz was taken aback by this statement. Realizing exactly what the stick figures were implying, he shook his head and shot his fists downward at his sides, trembling hard. "Th-That's disgusting! You wretched, disgusting pieces of _shi_..." Blotz was silenced when one of the stick figures grabbed onto his mouth, gripping it tightly so that he could not continue to speak. He struggled and he writhed. But he could not get himself free. He glared daggers at the zoner, trying to be defiant.

The stick figure zoner who held onto his mouth simply raised his other hand, finger pointing up into the air. "Why don't you hold onto that thought? We really should be going." He looked over his shoulder, nodding to the others. "Isn't that right? We have quite the journey ahead of us and..."

Blotz jerked his head away. "Not on your life, you..."

"Before you finish that thought.." The stick figure's voice darkened just slightly, showing a level of seriousness that was not there before. Blotz was clearly a little taken aback by this and he formed fists with this hands, ready to fight back. "Why don't you think of your... 'sister'.." He made those forced quotations with his fingers, causing both Blotz and Snap to growl. "I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate it if something happened to her on your watch."

Blotz tilted his head. "What do you..." His eyes widened in horror when it finally dawned on him. He straightened himself up, putting a hand to his mouth. "You..." He gasped. "You wouldn't..."

The stick figure just stared at him.

Blotz took a step forward, keeping his posture in front of Zibble even more evident. He hunched his body, and he brought up his fists. "If you want to take her, you will have to go through me."

The stick figure just continued to look at him. It didn't look like he was at all affected by what he had said. It was as though he had something else on his mind. Something that Blotz didn't know about. Like he had another way to...

Snap's remaining eye went fully wide, going so fast that he ended up flinching in pain from accidentally moving his damaged eye. He swiftly turned his head, looking at the one direction that Zibble and Blotz were not paying attention to. He took notice of one of the stick figures having moved around this way. This stick figure was positioning themself so close, out of their field of view. Did these two zoners not see this movement in the corner of their eyes? It was becoming rapidly clear that this was not the case.

At first, Snap wasn't sure what was going on. He was hardly paying attention to the conversation that Blotz was having with the stick figure zoners. He was too busy watching this one stick figure with the corner of his remaining eye. He tried not to make it too obvious that he was looking. But as he watched, dread began to rise up inside of him, a burning sensation spreading throughout. There was something really wrong here...

And that's when he saw it. As plain as day, this stray stick figure pulled something from their side and positioned it next to them. There was something sharp and glinty, a triangular thing. When he realized what it was, Snap let out a sharp gasp.

 _A spear..._

And it was pointed right at _Zibble..._

What happened next, Snap hardly had time to register it in his mind. He was already taking action, his feet propelling him from the ground. Before he realized what was happening, he was already rushing forward, ignoring his own pain as he launched himself at where Zibble was. He registered her shocked face as he grabbed onto her, and then he pushed her out of the way...

His eye bulged wide open as he then registered a flash of pain in his side. He could feel something digging into his flesh, his body stiffening up and quivering. He could taste something iron-like in his mouth and seconds later, he felt his body crumpling to the ground. The sharpness seemed to twist around, making him gasp loudly, his cries becoming wet. Then there was a sharp tug, another even stronger flash of pain, and then it gave way into a constant dull pain that branched of from his side.

"Snap!" The call sounded so echoey and distorted, that he had no clue just who had said it. "Please get up! Snap! No!"

He lifted his head up, trying to see who was speaking to him. He could see a blurriness of what looked like yellow and green, maybe some other colors. But that was about it. He could not recognize the face. Then he felt some kind of dreariness pushing down against him, his mind feeling like it was becoming nothing more than a mere anvil dragging him out to some invisible sea that he could not see. He felt himself wobbling a little as he tried to get up, only to immediately collapse back into the ground.

His vision rapidly darkened, and he could no longer focus. The cries for him grew fader and fader, and soon they were so distant... It was like... Snap felt so tired and dizzy all at once. He could feel his remaining eye blinking and struggling to stay open. But it was so heavy that he just...

Soon his eyes shut completely. Darkness descended upon him. And there was the sweet relief of pain just melting away. Then all was silent.

sss

 _No... This couldn't be happening_... She kept shaking her head rapidly, trying so much to deny what she was seeing. But no matter what she did, no matter how hard she shook her head, nothing would change what knew had happened.

Snap had... sacrificed himself for her...

Zibble stood, or rather kneeled, in utter shock. Her wide eyes kept staring at the body at her feet, her mouth open and panting heavily. She could feel her mind spinning around in circles as she tried to comprehend what had just happened here. She felt like she was going to fall to the ground at any given moment, and yet she still remained frozen like a block of ice. She darted her eyes from left and right and then looked back at him.

Zibble's eyes focused on the wound on his side that the spear had given him. The hole was deep and bloody, dripping with the red fluid. She could soon smell the scent of blood in the air, making her feel quite sick. She licked her lips slowly and she swallowed hard. She leaned herself forward, reaching out with her hand to touch Snap. Her trembling hand was soon retracted to herself and she rubbed it up and down. She looked at her hand for a moment and then back at Snap. She could not bring herself to say anything for several moments.

Then finally, she tried to speak in a trembly, shaky voice, "S-Snap...?" Her voice was so whispy, she was not surprised when Snap did not answer. She tried again, this time sounding more forceful. "Snap...?" But there was still no reply.

No... This couldn't be happening... She shook her head slowly, not wanting to accept just what had happened. She had to be imagining this. She had to be thinking of this wrong. There was no way that Snap could be...

When she saw how shallow Snap was breathing and her heart nearly stopped beating. She felt a cold chilliness crawling up her spine, making her hair raise on end. She felt her body shiver a few times and she struggled not to throw up or fall over. She gritted her teeth tightly and she tried once more to speak. But her voice was caught in her throat and she did little more than just hiccup.

Guilt soon washed over her body. She could feel a horrible burning sensation in her mind and chest and stomach, eating away at her insides. This was her fault. Snap had pushed her out of the way so she would not get hurt. Why would he do that? After what she did to him, he still... Oh gawd... Snap, no... Tears dripped rapidly from her face as she lowered her head to the ground, shaking and gasping for air.

She soon turned her blurred, teary-eyed head over to the stick figure zoner who had attacked him. She clenched her teeth hard and took in several heavy breaths, her mind feeling like it was a thick brick block. Then things seemed to almost spin into nothingness as she stared intently at this zoner. She snarled angrily and she felt her body filling up with adrenaline. She felt the urge to launch herself at this zoner and tear them apart for what they did.

But when it came right down to it, she ended up doing something else entirely.

She began to plead.

"Please... D-Don't hurt him anymore..." Despite her glare and bared teeth, her voice sounded more broken than anything. Hot tears pooled from her eyes as she sniffled, wiping them away. "Just don't do this anymore.. Please..."

The stick figure looked at their comrades for a moment. They all either smiled or looked indifferent. They then looked back at her, tilting their head to the side. "Why should I? Maybe I will put him out of his misery. He looks so awful..."

"N-No!" Zibble cried out, her voice intermixed with horror and fear and guilt. "Please! Can't you just.." She stumbled over her own words. "J-Just..." She shut her eyes tightly, lowering her head. She could not believe what she was about to say next. But it ended up slipping out of her mouth without her being able to stop it. She lifted her head up and shouted, her eyes still closed tightly. " _Can't you save him?!_ "

This caused the stick figures, as well as Blotz, to freeze and stare at her in shock and confusion. Zibble could feel their stares penetrating her soul, yet she still remained firm. When she opened her eyes, she felt as though they were like daggers, piercing through all those who were watching. She took in a few more heavy breaths, each one sounding like she were releasing unwanted weight. Then she continued.

"Please save him... Don't let him die..." She pleaded, her voice squeaking a little. "I-I don't want him to d-d-die..." She looked at the stick figure zoner before her pleadingly, her eyes wide and filled with fear and dread and all kinds of other mixed negative emotions. "Please help him... Please.."

"Well, this is quite... interesting..." Said the stick figure zoner who had attacked Snap. They looked over and gave their comrades a sideways glance. "It would seem this cute little zoner wants us to throw her a bone, so to speak." They released a small chuckle. "Shall we do it?"

The stick figures talked amongst themselves. They chattered and whispered, grinned and laughed, groaned and glared. All the while, Zibble and Blotz remained silent, unsure and curious about what the stick figures were going to say or do. There was little they could do at this point but wait for an answer. They both hoped that the stick figures would choose to do something more...helpful. But they both also knew how slim of a chance that this was.

Still...maybe a miracle would happen.

The head stick figure was the one who answered next. "Why should we help your friend?"

"C-Come on... You can't just leave him like this... Please.." Zibble whimpered. Any sign of defiance melted away from her voice, dissipating into more soft cries. She looked up at the zoners before her, silently pleading with her eyes for them to do something for Snap. "Don't let him die... Please.. I'm begging you..." She realized that she was sounding like a broken record right about now, but she couldn't help it.

Blotz licked his lips slowly and he swallowed hard. Zibble turned her head and watched silently as Blotz walked forward, soon situating himself closer to the stick figure zoners. He looked at them up and down, as though trying to see if they had any other weapons with them. His voice soon came out of his mouth, though it was quite trembly and shaky. "Please listen to her... Snap... He doesn't deserve this... Can't you find it in your hearts to help him?"

Both children zoners knew how unlikely that this was. They both knew that there was little reason for these zoners to care for Snap. They probably would just spear him through the heart and kill him just to spite them. And their twisted smiles on their faces did not help matters. They could feel their hearts racing inside of their chests as they dreaded what the response was going to be.

But despite that, they both still stood firm. They kept themselves in front of Snap to the best of their ability. They didn't know what to expect, but at least with them standing here, these zoners were going to have one heck of a time trying to get past them. They were not going to let them get through so easily.

The stick figures looked at one another, looking as though they were trying to contemplate an answer. They talked with each other once more, but it was different this time. It looked more like they had agreed already on what to do. This chattering, this discussion, it had the look and feel of something that was more deliberate. Just a show of sorts. Their expressions when they looked back at them seemed to coincide with this theory, much to their dismay. Despite that, the two zoners still tried to remain where they were, undeterred as possible.

"Oh sure... I think we can arrange something..." One of the stick figures said.

The two children zoners raised their heads up further at this. But they did not get their hopes up. They both recognized that tone. These stick figures wanted something. And exactly what, they had an idea. They wanted to be proven wrong, but the only way to find out was...

"If you tell us more about Rapsheeba, we will consider helping your friend."

Blotz spluttered at this. "S-Seriously?! You're... You're making us choose between two of our friend?!"

The stick figure who spoke just sneered. "I'm sure you care about both... But one of them you care about even more." He turned his head to the side, giving them a sideways glance. "Just pick the one you love the most and discard the other one. That should not be too difficult, right?"

Zibble could feel her mind burning. These... These _monsters_... They were trying to blackmail them... These horrible, terrible creatures... How dare they do such a thing.. She felt adrenaline rising inside of her a second time and her teeth ground up tightly against one another. She felt her fingers flexing and arching, the tips feeling like they wanted to drive into them and tear them to shreds. And this time, she was not going to hold back. The only thing keeping her from doing this was Blotz, who had his hand on her shoulder and shook his head, warning her not to do anything drastic.

The two children glared daggers at the stick figures, both sickened by this proposition. Being forced to choose between two of their friends.. That was just downright cruel. They couldn't believe how low they were willing to stoop. What did they hope to gain from this? Or was this just for 'fun'? How disgusting...

But should they be surprised? These stick figures had not really been the nicest to them and they had proven time and again just how cruel they were willing to be to get what they wanted. Zibble and Blotz had hoped that they wouldn't have been this pointlessly cruel, to hurt Snap and then refuse to save him unless they caved in and told them what they wanted. There was no reason to do that. This wasn't... Snap hadn't done anything to deserve this...

But in the end, they were just..so torn between what to do. What was the right thing to do here? What should they do? They looked at one another, their minds filling up with so many questions. They then looked at Snap, their minds filling with thoughts on what they should do. They had to make a decision and fast. They had no choice but to choose between their two friends. Who did they want to save more?

 _Rapsheeba... or Snap..?_

 _Argh_.. It was going to be so hard to choose... How could they choose between their two friends...? This wasn't fair...

"Tick tock..." One of the stick figures said. Her face was twisted up into a hideous smile. "Time is running out... Choose _wisely_."

Zibble growled at her, but said nothing. Staring at the stick figures, noticing how similar they were, for a brief moment, Zibble felt as though she were staring at a set of clones. That made this whole thing even more creepy. She swallowed nervously and arched her body up a little, her head lowering. She released a small growl as she tried to figure out what she was going to say. Her body filled up with so much energy and she was shaking so hard and her mind was spinning so fast and...

Suddenly she felt herself deflate as her head lowered. She couldn't take it any longer. She knew there was only one choice that she could make. It was not going to be an easy one. She knew that she was going to hate herself for it. Then again, she would feel the exact same way no matter which she chose. But she had a feeling that, if she did not choose, something worse was going to happen.

Like losing _both_ of them...

After she swallowed hard, forcing herself to collect her thoughts, she managed to make herself speak, "I-I... We've..." She looked over at her brother. Blotz looked at her sadly as he slowly nodded his head. She looked back at the stick figures, her voice taking on a much more solemn tone. "We have made up our minds..."

"Good little children..." The stick figure tapped her fingers together, smiling eagerly. "And which friend did you choose was worthy of your help...?"

It would take a while before either of them could wash away the guilt of what they were about to say. But they knew that they had no choice, and that in the end, the others would understand. Even if they themselves never let themselves forget, their friends...they would get that they were forced into this.

Nonetheless, saying the sentence was so difficult. They had to practically force it out of their mouths. It was so shaky and so dampened with emotion, it was a miracle that it was still coherent.

"We have chosen..."


	22. A Way Out

_Oh shit_... This isn't what he had planned on. Taking this route turned out to be a huge mistake. He was leading the humans straight towards a group of guards. If they saw them...

Quickly, his feet scrambling against the ground, Randar veered off to the side. He gestured for the humans to follow him, and quickly they all ran to the side, inside a hidden crevice that was only just barely noticeable. They pressed themselves up against there, sucking in a sharp breath, all hoping that they would go unnoticed.

The light came closer. Their tension rose. Their breathing grew more and more stiff. But despite that, they managed to hold on, managed to keep themselves as still as possible. They watched as things grew steadily brighter and they could hear the heavy breathing of the guards coming this way. It was difficult to say if they were actually looking for them or if they were merely on patrol. Either way, they did their best to ensure that they did not get their attention.

Then when they came, that's when they all held their breath. Radar kept himself in front of the humans just in case. He wasn't really sure how well this would deter his fellow stick figures from looking, but hey, it was at least something. As he stood there, standing straight and stiff, he noticed that there was something almost... _familiar_ about these footsteps, the shapes that were crawling about. Being a stick figure, he was more in tune with the subtle differences between his people than other zoners. And these are starting to look an awful lot like...

"Judy? Quar..?" He whispered under his breath. Sure enough, when the stick figures began to pass, it was them. The light illuminated their faces enough that he could see the unique notches where the child who drew them obviously messed up.. There was no mistaking these two.

He swallowed hard, feeling as though time had slowed down greatly, his mind spinning. What if they stopped and took notice of him? How was he going to explain himself? What was he going to do to ensure that the humans would not be found? What if he was associated with them? What if...?

Thankfully, they didn't seen to notice him. He watched as the pair disappeared down the hallway. They seemed rather disinterested in their job and they weren't really trying to look for anything. It was like they had entered some kind of a trance and the only thing they could think of doing was walk. Not that Radar complained; that just gave him and the others more time to get away. He waited until the light vanished down the hallway before he turned and attempted to keep going, making a quick gesture for the humans to follow him.

Or rather, the human, as the other one was unconscious still. Radar didn't know what was wrong with him, and apparently, neither did the other human. Penny and...Rudy right? Yeah that sounded like their names. Penny was holding onto Rudy, looking like a whole mixture of emotions had washed over her. The most prominent being sorrow. It was obvious that she had been crying for a little while, and she did look as though she had been trying to wake up her friend to no avail. While Radar did feel some sympathy, there was little time to talk about that. They had to get out of here as soon as they could.

At least the tunnels looked quiet and empty now. He did not see anybody else besides Judy and Quar, and they were pretty far away. They would need quite the hearing capabilities in order to hear him and the humans walking down one of these tunnels. Just as long as they were quiet, and he doubted that Rudy, Penny, and...whatever her name was, Rapsheeba, were dumb enough to try to make any noise. And Rudy was out cold so it wasn't like he could do anything, anyway.

He tried to keep his mind clear as he headed down the tunnels. He had been through this place several times before. He knew that there were certain ways that they should not go, certain ways that could be safe, and then a small percentage that would definitely be fine, as nobody patrols these corridors as much.

And that was the goal. To get these humans in one of these tunnels. It would still be a little while yet before they could get out, but at least they would have some time to rest. There was some things that needed to be discussed. He was certain that these humans, or rather Penny, and the zoner Rapsheeba would want to know more about why he was coming to help them. They also needed to know the route that would most likely get them out of here. There was a way, and he would take them there as soon as he could.

But before they could discuss anything, they needed to find a place to stop and sit down and rest. They were still moving at a pretty fast pace. They had to keep up the brisk movements just in case some other zoners appeared in the hallway. They could not risk being spotted when they weren't ready to run. It was just too...

He stopped abruptly, and he could hear feet slipping behind him as Penny and Rapsheeba struggled to stop. He looked left and right slowly, his eyes narrowing into slits, his teeth clenched. There was something very familiar about this tunnel. Even more so than the others. Was this the tunnel that he was looking for?

 _Yes...it was_. He recognized that marking on the wall. He had put his hand to this wall with a faded paint so he would remember it. Well this had gone on faster than he had thought. At least they would definitely be safe in this tunnel.

"Come on. Follow me."

"We already have been following you..." Penny growled softly. "Where are you taking us?"

"Hush! Keep your voice down!" Radar tried not to sound too forceful when he shouted that. He just wished that Penny would understand. At least Rapsheeba was not making a bit deal of this. At least Rapsheeba understood that now was not the time to be questioning this stuff. "We'll talk more once we get to a safe spot!"

Penny adjusted the still knocked out Rudy in her arms. "We have been following you for quite a while, and you still haven't really gotten us to a 'safe spot' as you claim. Can you at least tell us how much longer it's going to be?"

Radar hissed, "It will take longer the more you distract me!"

"Well sorry." Penny said. It was easy to tell that she was being sarcastic when she said that.

Rapsheeba put her hand on Penny's shoulder. "Penny...?" She whispered softly. Penny glanced down at her, giving her a somewhat rough expression before softening up. Penny then released a small sigh, turned, and walked away from her, continuing to follow Radar. Rapsheeba moved along behind her.

"Let's get going." Penny said somewhat bitterly to Radar as she wanted to know which way to go next.

Radar gritted his teeth, feeling the urge to say something to her. But he then paused, glancing down once more at Rudy. He realized that he could not blame Penny for this behavior. She was worried for her friend. They were pretty close, were they not? It was little wonder why she was growing a little impatient about finding a place to rest. Radar decided that it was best not to try to antagonize her further. He just nodded his head and, quietly, he turned and he began to walk down the tunnel further.

Radar kept going for a while, turning his head left and right as he tried to make sense of where to go. He had not been here that often and the last time that he was here, a good amount of time had passed. He needed to figure out where that one spot was. There was a groove in the wall, must like they had been in before. Only this groove was deeper, actually going fully into a room with no other way into it. He had no idea what it was when he found it, and he still did not. He theorized that this particular room originally had some purpose, only for it to be sealed away when the designers changed their minds about it.

But where was that darn room? It had to be around here somewhere. He did not recall it being too far, or requiring many turns. But for some reason, it seemed like it was getting increasingly difficult to find it, taking longer than normal to reach it. The fact that the others' foot falls felt like they were echoing louder and louder in his head certainly didn't help things. It was like some kind of hurricane was screeching inside of his head.

"Can we stop and rest for a moment?" Penny called out to him. Radar stopped and stared at her, cocking an eyebrow up in confusion. "I need to set him down for a moment."

"Why? You were doing a good job with hold him before." Radar asked.

Penny stretched her lips to one side as she scowled. "In case you needed a reminder, I've been holding my friend here for the past several... I don't know how long it's been. A while at least. I'm strong, but not that strong. You think I want to drop him?!"

"Okay, okay...! _Sheesh_..." Radar lifted his hands up, making a few quick motions with them. "We can rest." He paused for a moment as he straightened himself up, looking all around behind Penny. Then he looked directly at her and said, "But please don't take too long. I don't know if we have been followed or not."

Penny gave him a look that he could not explain. Was she shocked or was she upset? Was it both? Either way, he still flinched when she said, "You mean you don't know? I thought you said that we were safe in these tunnels."

"I said 'we should be'. But that does not mean that someone didn't notice us and..." He paused, struggling to think of what he could say to Penny specifically. He soon realized that there was not much of a point. He waved his hand dismissively, turning his head to the side. "Never mind that now. Just.. get some rest, okay?"

Penny looked like she wanted to say something else. But she quickly took his advice and she lowered herself to the ground. She gently set Rudy's unmoving body on the floor. Then she dropped onto her knees and she closely examined him. She appeared to be looking for any sign of injuries and then, after a few moments, she began to talk to Rudy, trying to wake him up. He did not respond to her attempts, and one could almost mistake him for dead if it were not for the fact that he was still breathing, albeit very shakingly.

Radar felt a pang of sympathy as he watched this, especially when Rapsheeba joined in and tried to do something to help. Radar looked at Rudy carefully himself, but no matter how much that he had examined him, he could find find nothing on him that indicated that he was badly hurt. So whatever happened to him probably did not have an external source. Maybe something had happened within him?

Exactly what that could have been, he had no clue. But he also knew that, if nothing was done soon, Rudy could end up much, much worse off. If only there was some kind of clue as to what could have happened... If only there was a way to determine the cause of his condition... Then they could...

But there was no time to think about that. There was no time to determine anything. It hadn't been that long since they had stopped, but before he realized what the heck was going on, already Radar could hear footsteps. He grew rigid at the sound of this, turning his head from side to side swiftly, trying to see where it was coming from. The sound was pretty distant, as though it would take a while to get here. But it was still uncomfortably close, like they were just at the end of the next hallway and...

He whirled his head over, staring at Penny with wide eyes. He didn't need to say anything. She already seemed to realize what was going on. She got up to the ground, cradling Rudy gently in her arms. The two of them exchanged looks of terror, as well as Rapsheeba, before they rushed down the hallway faster than before. This didn't seem like the smartest idea, but they had to get away from here as soon as possible. Or else, they...

Radar was relieved when he saw that they had reached their destination. They really had been so close. He could see the mark on the wall. He could see the dent, nearly invisible thanks to the coloring and the lighting. He licked his lips slowly, then, without delaying things much longer, he rushed over, his feet pounding the ground. He managed to get through, disappearing into the makeshift hallway. Without looking around first, he poked his head out and gestured for Penny to follow him inside. She and Rapsheeba rushed in, Penny still holding Rudy. But it was still not yet safe. Before he would hiss his chance, Radar reached up and pulled something, and there was a loud thud. A thick black sheet now covered the tunnel, preventing anyone from looking in and noticing anything but darkness.

They were now safe.

For the time being, anyway.

Radar took in a few low breaths as he could hear the sound of footsteps coming over this way, echoing in his head. He and the others froze into solid ice statues, waiting and listening for anything to happen .They watched the opening, where they could see just the barest hints of shadows coming over them. They held their breaths when the shadows seem to pause there... And then with no further hesitation, the shadows disappeared and the footsteps faded. Radar let out a small sigh of relief. Good, those idiots had not noticed them.

Now that they had time to discuss things, Radar turned his head to Penny and Rapsheeba. "I know of a hidden passageway that you can take."

"You do...?" Rapsheeba spoke, her voice soft, hesitant. "Wh-Where is it?"

Radar turned his head back to the hallway from which they came, his eyes narrowing further. "The entrance is down that way somewhere. I suggest we wait first to make sure we're alone. And then from there, we..."

"Where will it take us?"

Radar turned to Penny to answer her question. "It should take you well outside of Scrapbook City. Exactly where, I am not sure. I never went all the way down."

"Well if you had never went all the way through..." Penny cocked her head to the side, her eyes frowning deeply. "...then how do you know that it will take us out of here?" Her tone hinted that she was getting a bit suspicious. Not that he could blame her. He did sound a little off. So he clarified the best that he could.

"It's a straight shot, and I could see that it definitely went further than the city's limits are." Radar said, trying to sound as firm as possible. He did not want to make himself sound too much like an ass, however. That was not the point of this discussion. "Trust me, once you get out at the end, you'll be out of notice of anyone here."

"I see..." Penny whispered. She continued to cradle Rudy against her. She looked down at him, stroking his hair lightly, looking sad. She looked over at Rapsheeba. She offered her a reassuring smile, but it seemed clear that it did not work all that well with the singer zoner. Rather than look relieved, she seemed to become even more depressed. She walked closer and she cuddled up against Penny, wrapping her arms around her own and then pressing her head against her arm. Penny did not seem to mind. But it was clear something was still on her mind as she looked back at Radar. "... _So_...why are you helping us..?"

Radar had not expected such a question right now. Especially when they were hiding and waiting for a chance to get away from here. He stared at her long and hard before he managed to say, "Why am I... You want to know why I'm..."

"Well of course. Why wouldn't we?" Penny frowned at him, although she didn't sound particularly upset. "We are risking so much following you. The least that you can do is explain just why you were doing this." Penny's expression softened up. "Please... We just want to know where you stand."

Rapsheeba nodded in agreement. "Nobody else here seems as understanding as you. What is.. What made you decide that we were worth helping?"

Radar didn't answer right away. He instead looked off to the side, frowning as thoughts clamored throughout his head. He could feel memories flooding his mind, and the more that he let this happen, the more that his teeth ground up against each other. He tried not to growl too deeply, not wanting to scare the people that he was supposed to help. But he couldn't help it. He could not stop himself. And how could he? With all that has happened...

He released a small sigh as he looked back at them, his expression lightening up. He knew that they did deserve to know. They had just arrived. So it would be understandable that they did not know everything that was going on. They didn't know the full extent of what was going on. They did not know Mayor Raindrop...er, rather, Mayor Darling... like he did. There was more to that guy than they could ever possibly know. He could not begin to describe him.

So he instead decided that it was best to start out smaller. To give them a fresh idea of what to expect...and hopefully to get them to see exactly why he was being so helpful towards them. He had his reasons.

"Frankly put... I am not very fond of my 'mayor'." He growled lowly, his eyes facing downward. Even if he was faced to the others like before, he still could not bring himself to face them directly just yet. "He has not exactly been a good mayor as of lately."

"Mayor Darling...?" Whispered Rapsheeba. Radar nodded his head curtly. "Wh-What did he do...?"

"Feh... What didn't he do, you mean...?" Radar was so tempted to list off everything that this stick figure had done. But there wouldn't be enough time. He would ramble on way too much. So instead, he tried to make it short and to the point. "He has been making so many rules lately, and cranking down way too hard on anyone who disobeys. He has gotten determined to put an end to our suffering."

"With the dead stick figures?" Penny asked. She immediately flinched, realizing that she had sounded a little too frank there. She lowered her head. "I'm sorry."

Radar shook his head. "No, it's okay. You're right. That is what I was referring to." Radar frowned his eyes deeply. "I understand that Mayor Darling wants us to be happy, but to force us to smile every day? To deny what was there?" He closed his eyes and rubbed his head. "That was just madness."

"He tried to make everyone go into denial...?" Penny whispered, her voice laced in shock. "B-But.. That would..."

"Yes, I know. Lying to oneself would cause more damage than the truth at times." Radar looked at Penny and Rapsheeba sadly. "And this was one such time."

Rapsheeba flinched as they said this. She fumbled with her fingers, her teeth gritted tightly. She looked away from the others. It was hard to say what was on her mind. Radar kept quiet, giving her a chance to speak. But it was clear that she was choosing not to. Radar thought of asking her to express her thoughts more, but he digressed. He wouldn't want to stress her out too much.

Penny, however, did have something she wanted to say. "I can...see why he would want to do that, as misguided as it was. I guess he wanted people to not live in so much fear." She paused for a moment. She seemed to be contemplating what to say next. When she thought of something, she said, "But still, he has gotten rather..desperate, I agree. I mean he turned against me and Rudy so fast once he learned about..." Her voice trailed off, tinged with horror as she glanced warily at him, understandably so.

To put her mind at ease, Radar raised his hand up and said, "You do not have to be afraid. I understand that you..." He stopped himself as he licked his lips slowly. He felt as though poison was crawling through his stomach. There was something that he did have to know. There was no getting around it. He needed to know if... "Is it true that you and Rudy really did not know about...the effects of this...game that you described? Hangman was it...?"

Penny pulled her head back. Not so much startled as she was just... It was hard to tell. But it was clear that she was affected by his words. She looked away, staring off into the distance. Rapsheeba looked up at her worriedly, placing her hand down on her arm. Then, after a few moments, biting her lip firmly, Penny looked back at him. Slowly, her head nodded. "I'm...afraid so. I am...sorry about that."

So it was true. They really did not know. Well it was at least nice to know anyway. And in some small way, it was of some comfort. At least he now knew for certain that Rudy and Penny had not been playing the game to torment anyone. Same thing with any other human.

But in a way, it was also still horrifying. All those children, and any adult too, playing this 'game' and not realizing what they were doing. None of them stopping to think of the psychological damage it could cause. None of them wondering why they were using a stick figure for this game. It was so ingrained in their culture that they just never stopped to think about it.

Then again, the same thing could be said about ChalkZone. There were things that zoners were used to that humans could never fully comprehend. Such as the concept of areas that were always day or always night but not falling into the whole 'burned desert' or 'frozen tundra' that, based on his readings, humans would regard should happen. No zoner stopped to think about this. So it made sense that humans did not stop to think about everything, either.

As a result, despite feeling...uncomfortable with the idea of these humans not fully grasping the situation, he could not bring himself to be that upset. He at least understood the why and he understood that humans were not really trying to get them. He just wished that the mayor could understand that.

 _Oh well_... That guy was stubborn as a mule and there was no changing that. The only thing that he could do now was try to get these guys to safety. The sooner he could get them out, the better. He just hoped that, whatever happens...

He made the right decision.

sss

Skrawl walked up behind Pascal, stopping about a foot away. He folded his arms behind his back as he joined them in observing the construction...er, no, the moving operation. It had only been, what, an hour? And already, they were making some really good progress. Skrawl imagined that they would have relocated completely within another hour.

And then... Well Pascal mentioned something about moving forward with the plans. Whatever plans those might be... A part of Skrawl wondered just how much Pascal really thought about this. Or if they had just been saying things because they were still deciding.

No, that couldn't be it. They did mention that chalk piece. Skrawl still didn't know exactly what was so special about it. Not even that paper that Pascal let him read told him much. All he knew about it is that it was so powerful or something that it was supposed to remain locked away. Pascal really wanted it for some reason, though they did not really state fully why. If it was power that they wanted, wasn't there other ways?

Well this was a more.. _interesting_ way, he had to admit. More _exciting_. And what if the reward was great? He could get behind this, especially if it means getting back at Rudy for...

His thoughts trailed off when he remembered the thing with Rudy. Didn't this zoner talk about helping him getting back at Rudy? Skrawl realized that they barely talked about this. It was brought up a few times, yes. But the focus was barely on that. Skrawl himself had not really tried to bring it up as much as he thought he would, either. There was so much going on, and he was so busy focusing on trying to gain control of this place that he had... Oh he was such an idiot.

Oh well, at least he remembered now. And since he remembered, he could confront this zoner about this. He was not going to let them walk away form this topic. It was quite important... to him, anyway. Once he managed to figure this out, he would...

He found his thoughts once again cut off. But this time, it was by not himself, but this hooded zoner.

"Skrawl, would you be so kind and oversee this while I'm gone?" Pascal stretched themself. Skrawl could practically hear the joints snapping. He gritted his teeth and shuddered, turning his head to one side. "I have to go and..."

"Yeah, yeah.. You have to do something urgent." Skrawl hissed.

Pascal turned their head. "What was that, Skrawl?"

Skrawl narrowed his eyes. "Oh you heard me. I did not slip up." He took a few steps forward. He soon pointed his claw right at Pascal, nearly piercing his upper chest. "You have been dodging my questions for way too long. I'm sick of it! I want answers!"

Pascal tilted their head to the side. They then stared at Skrawl's claw before reaching over and grabbing onto it. Slowly, they pushed it away, a smile spreading along his mouth. "And...what kind of questions did you want to ask...?"

Skrawl narrowed his mismatched eyes into slits. "You're really going to play that game with me?!" His voice boomed. He stretched his arms straight up, trying his best to resist a scream. This guy was unbelievable. How dare he treat him like this... "Don't play dumb with me!" He once more pointed his finger at the zoner. "You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Oh I'm not playing any games." Pascal raised their hands up, still smiling. "I can read you loud and clear..."

Skrawl's body trembled. He could feel his large, yellow teeth grinding against one another, nearly breaking from the force. He held up his hands, curling his claws inward. A loud growl rumbled through his throat and contorted lips. " _Then why have you not yet told me exactly why you want that stupid piece of chalk?!_ "

Pascal snapped their head back looking at Skrawl in shock and confusion. "You're joking...? You're seriously still on that subject...?" Skrawl's glare was enough to answer Pascal's question. Pascal just let out a sigh, rubbing their head and shaking it from side to side. "I don't believe it..." They lowered their hand, palm facing up. "Look, it's not something I feel comfortable just telling anyone. So you should just forget about..."

"Raaah!" Skrawl rushed forward. He grabbed onto Pascal's neck and rammed them against the wall, so close to the large window that they were using before. "You better answer my question or else!"

Pascal struggled against his grip. They pushed down against his hands, trying to make him let go. But it was obvious that Skrawl was not going to let up so easily. Skrawl tightened his grip up even more, causing Pascal to open their mouth wider to gasp for air. Eventually, Pascal said, "O-O-Or else wh-wh-what...?"

Skrawl narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Then your little 'organization' is going to find itself a new leader. Don't think I won't be afraid to." Pascal's eyes widened a tad at this. Skrawl smirked. "Oh that's right. When I told you that I was in charge, I was not joking, you little worm..." Oh, that felt so good to say after the crap Pascal pulled on him earlier.

Pascal gave one more yank before their body just fell limp. They knew they didn't stand a chance against him right now. Whatever advantage that they had before, they did not have it right now. There was no one to help them. It was just them and Skrawl. And Pascal knew full well that Skrawl could always just lie about what had happened. The others would believe him. They trusted him more than Pascal.

"..all right... You really want to know...?" Pascal spoke, their voice a sort of defeated tone. "Fine, I will tell you..."

Skrawl smirked at this. "See? Not so hard, is it? Now...proceed..."

Pascal hissed, then growled, "It will restore me..."

Skrawl froze at this statement, his eyes going wide. He blinked slowly as he stared at the zoner, a part of him wondering if he had indeed heard correctly. There was nothing about this zoner's behavior that indicated that this was a lie. It did look like that they were being fully honest.

 _But_...something about it didn't seem right. What did this zoner mean by 'it would make them whole again'? What in the world was that supposed to mean? How could some measly piece of chalk, which they should not be able to use anyway, help them get something back that was missing? What was missing? He wished that this zoner would just tell him more instead of just standing there, staring at him like some kind of frozen statue.

But although getting increasingly annoyed by the lack of a response, Skrawl thought better than to just smack the zoner across the head. He opted to remain more civil than that. So he took in a slow, deep breath, trying to keep himself as calm as possible. He then leaned in a little closer, keeping his grip on the zoner tight but loosened it up slightly. He looked at them straight in the eyes, ensuring that they could not look away.

And that's when he said, "Go on..."

Pascal just glared back at him for a few moments. They took in a few trembly breaths. It was hard to say if they were just pissed off or if they were trying their hardest not to do anything to provoke Skrawl into attacking. Skrawl kind of hoped it was the second thing. He liked the idea of this zoner taking him more seriously, just as they should. Especially considering what he was able to accomplish right under their nose...

Pascal's voice cut him from his thoughts. "If you really must now, you big brute.. I do not belong here." Pascal's voice deepened and grew very serious. It was enough that it made Skrawl move his head back and stare at them in shock and confusion. Pascal just watched him carefully, doing nothing to indicate that they were joking about this. Pascal bit their lip firmly before they added in, "This...is not my home..."

Skrawl paused to think about this for a moment. He was not entirely sure how to take this. A part of him wondered if this zoner was just simply talking about this city not being their home and they wanted to get back. But that would not explain the thing about the 'becoming whole' again. He tried to think of other possibilities, but he was not able to think of one thing. His head started to hurt and he was tempted to rub it. But he did not want to look weak, so he just glared at the zoner before him, growling deeply.

But he knew that there had to be a secret to this puzzle. There had to be something that would explain what was going on here. There had to be a reason that this all connected somehow.

A zoner who wanted to be whole again...

Did not belong here...

Was very desperate to get what they wanted...

He searched through his mind carefully. He tried to turn his head's gears as much as he could, hearing them cranking about. He tried to figure out what it could possibly be. There had to be an explanation to all of this. There had to be something that would tie this all together. He just needed to think harder and more in depth and...

 _Wait... Was it is possible that...?_ Skrawl looked down at Pascal and stared at them more carefully. He had to admit, Pascal did look a little... But he had just dismissed as design. But what if there was much more to it than that. _What if...?_

No, it couldn't be possible... could it? He had never heard of such a thing happening. If he had known, he would have used it to his advantage to establish control over ChalkZone. But he just...found it too hard to believe. Something still did not feel right. It was like he was missing something. He had to be... He couldn't have been correct on this first guess. It couldn't have been like that. It was too out there. It was way too...

Yet there was nothing about Pascal's face that said otherwise. The longer that he stared at their face, the more that this seemed to be a possibility. He could feel his tongue going over his lips slowly as he tried to comprehend this. He tried to speak, but his voice kept getting caught in his thickened throat. He was mostly incomprehensible save for a few small words, like 'you' and 'cannot be'. Any attempts at forming a full on sentence was met with even more difficulty.

"Y-You're... Are you...?" Skrawl stammered. He sucked in a sharp breath at this, his eyes going wide. Pascal just stared right back at him, their eyes narrowing slowly, a small smile forming, creating a rather dark look that sent chills even down his spine. "No... That's... That's not..." His voice trailed off and he gulped nervously. He took a few steps back from the zoner before him, shaking his head slowly. "Impossible..!"

Pascal now free from Skrawl's grasp, merely wiped their arms off and stretched outward. Then they glanced at Skrawl in a sideways manner, smirking. "Oh is it? Then why am I still here before you? You can see very well that I am real and I am not lying to you."

"B-But...how could..?!" Skrawl stammered. He gulped and he took another step back. Although it was not like that this zoner had suddenly gained any particular powers, he still found himself moving away. The shock of it all made it impossible for him to keep himself too close, and he was panting heavily. "Nobody could... No, this makes no sense!" He gripped his head tightly, his mismatched eyes widening in a mixture of emotions.

Pascal let out a few small chuckles. They folded their arms behind their back and they began to circle around him slowly. They moved in a wide arch, their eyes never leaving him. Skrawl felt a bit unnerved, though he did his best not to show it too much. He kept his eyes narrowed and he adopted a hostile stance in case Pascal tried to do anything funny. Though was this really necessary? Could Pascal do anything to him? He would rather not take the risk.

Pascal seemed to be purposefully remaining silent, taunting him without words. It was like they were enjoying this, as shown by their gritted teeth and twisted smile. The sight of it was enough to make Skrawl want to slug the zoner, yet this discovery of what they were made him hold back. It was not something that he had expected. It was not something that he could understand. And thus, he did not know exactly how he should handle it.

"Do I... frighten you, Skrawl? Do I confuse you?"

" _Sh-Shut up!_ " Skrawl growled.

Pascal just chuckled lightly, their shoulders waving about. "You do not need to be that way with me. I understand. I have not told many the truth. In fact..." They pressed their finger against their lower chin. "You're the first one."

Skrawl blinked at this. Despite his confusion, this did kind of intrigue him a little.

Pascal continued, "But to put your mind at ease..." Pascal softened their expression up. "If you are willing to help me..." They tilted their head to the side. "I promise that I will help you in your fight against that Rudy character. I will use my abilities to aid you." They raised their hand up. "You have my word."

Despite what the zoner, or whatever this guy was, said, Skrawl was not entirely sure what to think. He kept his eyes narrowed into a frown, his lips pursed slightly. Should he take them completely seriously? Or should he remain cautious? After all, they could be lying to him. They could be wanting to get something out of him. This might all be a trick, and he did not do well when lied to. After all, this zoner hadn't exactly been completely...understandable during all of this. Then again, Skrawl knew that he hadn't been... Oh geeze, this fucking zoner was messing with his head again.

He shook his head once and then glared back at Pascal. He took in a deep breath and let out a low growl. "You are... absolutely sure?"

Pascal nodded their head once. "Yes, I'm sure. Why do you think I called you for your help? That boy will get in my way too." A twisted smile spread. "You know him better than anyone...don't you...?"

Well that would be Snap, but oh well, not that Skrawl cared. He felt his teeth clinch tightly against one another as he chuckled softly. He placed a hand to his chest and stood as proudly as he could. "Why... yes I am...!"

Pascal just snickered. "Perfect..."

sss

"C-Come on now... It wasn't your fault..."

"Y-Yes it was...! I was _so stupid!_ I-I should have known that it was all going to be just a trick! I should have... I-I should have..."

There was little that Blotz could do or say to cheer up Zibble right now. She was too lost in her thoughts, lost in the guilt that ripped through her soul and body. She was curled up against herself, sucking in trembling breath after trembling breath, shivering, tears forming down her cheeks. She hadn't stopped crying since they had...been left alone and Snap was taken from them.

Granted, if the stick figure zoners were true to their word, then Snap should be all right. The stick figures were just going to bandage him up and stabilize him. They had promised that they would do this and bring him right back. Although they did not have much of a reason to trust them, he knew that they had little choice in the matter. If they did not take this risk, then...

He could feel a burning feeling in his stomach, eating away at the very pit of it all. His eyes narrowed into deep slits and he felt his lip curling back into a snarl. He breathed in and out heavily, and he thought that he could feel his eyes glowing. Every part of him wanted to just find one of those stick figures and... But what was the point? Attacking them was not going to help them at all. They needed to focus on what was going on right now.

...which of course still related to those stick figure zoners. He could feel aches and pains spreading throughout his body. There was really no winning here. No way to escape this. He could only just struggle to hang on, his teeth grinding up against his jaw as he tried as hard as he could to maintain a calm and strong demeanor. He wanted to be a shoulder that Zibble could cry on. He wanted her to know that she could lean on him for comfort. He would not be much of a support if he let himself get too worked up over his emotions, now would he?

He watched his sister and creation-mate continue to cry for a few moments. He could see her body trembling and her cheeks becoming more and more red-stained. He pushed his lip into his mouth and bit it lightly, feeling his stomach give off a sharp and painful sting. There was a brief churning of nausea as he swallowed hard. He shuddered at the bitter taste that his saliva had taken on. Then he moved in closer.

Not knowing what else to do, already having tried to use words to calm her down, Blotz reached over and wrapped his arms completely around her, encasing her. Zibble seemed to stiffen for a moment at this before relaxing. She did little to fight back, if at all, as Blotz pulled her close to him. She pressed the side of her head against his chest, breathing in and out slowly as Blotz's hand moved up and down her back. Her breathing steadied, though remained slightly shaky. All other things were drowned out and soon all Blotz could hear and see was Zibble.

He had no idea how long they remained like this. He had no clue how much more of this they were going to be forced to take. He had no clue what they were going to do now. He wished he had some ideas but... he just did not. He didn't even know what these stick figures were going to want to do with them after they were no longer of use. Would they let them go? Or would they kill them off? Or just keep them around? He honestly did not know which one it was going to be. And being killed off or kept alive here... he did not know which among those he would choose as the most frightening.

He could practically hear the invisible clock's second hand pounding loudly in the air. Time was slowly crawling along all around him, making his heart skipping a few beats. He struggled to control himself, but despite his best efforts, he just... He shook his head and he gave another swallow, trying to control himself. He managed to push aside his emotions and he returned to the tranquil-ish state that he was in before. But the fear still lingered inside of him.

Just what was going to happen to them after this? Despite knowing that he might never figure it out, he still found himself pondering this over and over again. It just would not leave him. He gritted his teeth tightly, his eyes narrowing into slits. Regardless of whatever happened in the end, he was not going to allow these zoners to get away with this. He was not going to let them lay a hand on Zibble or Snap. This was going to end here and now. He didn't know how he was going to do it. It might not even be in their next encounter. But once he figured out a way...

He stopped himself when he could feel Zibble starting to shake a little harder. He bit his lip firmly as he looked down at her. She cuddled up against him more. He could feel his shirt becoming wet with her tears. She still would not stop beating herself down. She would not stop talking down about herself, like she was the most disgusting thing in the world. And he knew that there was little that he could do to help her with this. He already tried...and she still would not stop.

Zibble was not unfounded in her guilt. She did give into their demands and basically told them everything they ever wanted to know regarding Rapsheeba. She had told them more than what they really needed to know. Although Blotz was horrified by this, he understood that she only did it out of fear of Snap. At least Rapsheeba was away and likely could escape capture. But Snap would have died if it not for Zibble caving in. So in a way, she kind of did the right thing. He probably would have done the same thing himself.

But he could understand why she did not feel like much of a hero. He could understand why she was so disgusted with herself that she kept berating herself like this. She would probably continue to do this for a while, and it would take some time for her to lighten up. He did his best to cheer her up, and now the most that he could do for her was just hold onto her and be here for her. Maybe if she saw just how supportive he was being, she would come to understand that he did not hate her, and that she really did not have much of a choice. No one could really blame her for this. No one could...

His thoughts were interrupted when he could hear the sound of the doors opening up. He whirled himself around, still clinging tightly to Zibble. He could hear her make a confused 'hmph?' sound, but he kept her against himself and shielded. There was little reason for her to want to see these zoners right now. He would ensure that she did not have to look at them. Not after what they have done.

 _Oh gawd... These zoners_... Even their smiles were enough to raise his body temperature. He felt his heart pounding in his chest and he struggled so hard not to vomit. He felt his face burning as it was flushed with intense emotion. Although he knew that these zoners were purposely trying to piss him off and that he was walking right into this, he just could not help himself. How could he stop himself from reacting when he could clearly see what they were doing with Snap..?

They were not treating him very gently at all. To his horror, they had been dragging him along the ground like he was nothing more than a sack of potatoes. He felt his mouth dropping open as Snap was swung upwards as the zoners got closer and closer to the cage. Blotz wanted to call out to them, make them stop treating Snap like that. But he stopped himself. He realized that if he tried to say anything, they might just start treating Snap even worse. So he just glared at them, his eyes narrowed into slits.

Of course, this did little to deter the zoners. They just continued to smile as they came over. They did not necessarily swing Snap harder, but they did little to let up on what rough treatment that they gave him. He was covered in a bit of dirt from all the dragging around, and Blotz was certain that he saw a few small scrapes here and there. The sight of them was enough to make his hand ball up into a tight fist. He struggled so hard to bite his tongue and keep silent.

"Here's your worthless little friend back." Snarled one of the stick figures. His gruff voice was enough to make Zibble turn her head, one of her wide eyes staring at him. The stick figure just smirked at her as he opened up the door and tossed Snap roughly inside. "Here! Enjoy!"

The stick figures all gave a low chuckle as Snap crashed against the ground painfully. He was sprawled so awkwardly and it looked like he had gotten a little bruised from the fall. He soon just laid there on the ground, crumpled up in a heap. The only thing that made this not so bad was the fact that Snap was still unconscious. Other than that... Blotz had to bit his own tongue to avoid shouting at the stick figures for what they had done.

Zibble hardly looked at the stick figures. She was too busy staring at Snap, who, although bandaged up, looked a little beaten from the rough dragging. Zibble's eyes watered up with more tears. She took in a few trembly breaths. Then, without warning, she opened up her mouth and let out a scream, calling out Snap's name.

" _Snap!_ "

She wriggled herself free as she rushed to Snap's side as quickly as she could. She threw herself on the zoner, putting her arms around him. She curled up against him, her head resting on his body. She clung to him like he was the most precious thing in the world. Then she started to cry harder.

The sight of this was gut wrenching enough. But the fact that the stick figures found this to be funny really drove Blotz up the wall. He had no idea if the other stick figures here were like this, or if just some of them, like this, wanted to be assholes. But regardless, that still did not change the fact that he was getting really, really pissed off about this. He was surprised that his stomach did not burn a hole straight through with all the acids that were building up.

But he tried his best to shake it off. He tried not to stare at the zoners still sniggering at them. He ignored the comments that they made. He just focused on Zibble and Snap. He watched them sadly for a few moments. Then, slowly, he walked over towards them, taking his time. He licked his lips slowly, feeling his saliva turn better once more.

Then, once he was up to where they were, he leaned against them. He pushed his body against Zibble and Snap. He wrapped his arms around them fully, securing them in a hug. He remained silent, knowing that there was very little that they could do. He slowly shut his eyes and let out a small sigh. He did the only thing that he could think to do: whisper soft, comforting words to them, especially Zibble, and hope and prayed that things would turn out all right in the end.


End file.
